TALE  S 


or 


SOUTHERN   BORDER, 


BY    C.    W.   WEBBER, 

AUTHOR  OP 

IN   THE  EYE,"    "OLD  HICKS  THE  GUIDE,"    "CHABLES  mNTEKMELD   ?APEK3," 
«  COLD-MINES  OF  THE  GILA,"  ETC.  ETO. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY. 
1887. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  year  1868,  by 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  4  CO. 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania, 


PREFACE. 


IN  presenting  this  series  of  Border  Tales,  there 
seems  to  be  little  more  necessary  to  be  said  than 
that  I  have  not  only  been  to  some  pains  in  bringing 
together  those  of  my  fugitive  sketches  that  have 
not  heretofore  been  collected,  but  have  also  imbo- 
died  with  them  several  somewhat  lengthy  stories, 
which  have  now  first  been  completed,  expressly  with 
the  view  of  rendering  the  collection  more  full  and 
varied. 

Many  of  these  sketches  have  been  taken  off-hand, 
as  the  result  of  personal  observation  and  experience, 
on  the  spot ;  and,  even  in  those  cases  where  I  have 
not  been  an  immediate  personal  actor,  are  drawn 
from  such  vivid  memories  as  a  frequent  participation 
with,  often,  the  very  parties  themselves,  in  scenes 
of  nearly  a  similar  spirit,  would  be  likely  to  furnish. 
As  delineations,  therefore,  they  may  reasonably  be 

435776 


PREFACE. 


supposed  to  convey,  with  something  more  than  the 
fidelity  of  the  mere  romancer,  the  wild  actualities  of 
life  on  our  most  storied,  yet  least  illustrated  borders 
— those  of  the  Great  South-west  and  South. 

I  shall,  some  day,  amuse  myself  by  furnishing 
notes  to  this  series  of  Border  Tales,  which  will  give 
the  bare  and  literal  outlines  of  historical  reality  upon 
which  each  sketch  is  based ;  and  I  am  greatly  mis 
taken  in  my  estimate  of  those  who  shall  have  per 
sisted  in  regarding  me  as  having  drawn  exclusively 
upon  my  imagination  for  my  facts,  if  they  do  not 
find,  no  little  to  their  surprise,  that  I  have  in  reality 
been  more  romanced  against  by  their  incredulity, 
than  romancing. 


CONTENTS. 


MM 

JACK  LONG;   OE,  THE  SHOT  IN  THE  EYE 9 

THE   BORDER  CHASE:  A  FIRST  DAY  WITH  THE  RANGERS..     45 

GONZALEZE  AGAIN;   OR,  THE  BRAVO'S  STRATAGEM 71 

ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE 91 

THE  TEXAN  VIRAGO  AND  THE  TAILOB  OF  GOTHAM 121 

DEATH  OF  LITTLE  RED-HEAD 166 

GABREELLE:   THE  WHITE  MARE  OF  CHIHUAHUA 181 

THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA 215 

THE  FIGHT  OF  THE  PINTO  TRACE 280 

BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS...  ..  293 


A2 


JACK  LONG ; 

OB, 

THE  SHOT  IN  THE  EYE. 


TALES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  BORDER. 


JACK  LONG; 

OR,  THE  SHOT  IN  THE  EYE. 

THE  millions  of  copies  of  this  story  which  have  been  circu 
lated  in  this  country  through  the  daily  and  weekly  press, 
have  all  been  from  a  mutilated  edition  which  was  impudently 
pirated  in  an  English  periodical,  under  a  new  name.  Ameri 
can  editors,  in  copying,  replaced  a  portion  of  the  original 
title,  to  be  sure,  but  took  the  text  as  they  found  it.  I  would, 
therefore,  present  it  in  book  form  for  the  first  time,  once  for 
all  pronouncing  the  following  to  be  the  only  version  author- 


10  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

ized  by  me,  of  a  narrative  the  facts  of  which  are  too  nearly 
historical  to  justify  their  having  been  wantonly  handled. 
r  It  must  be  confessed  that  the  man  of  high  civilization  will 
find  some  difficulty  in  understanding  how  such  a  deed  as  I 
am  about  to  relate — requiring  months  to  consummate — could 
have  been  carried  through  in  the  open  face  of  law  and  of  the 
local  authorities — but  he  who  has  any  knowledge  of  this 
Texan  frontier,  will  tell  him  that  the  rifle  and  the  bowie 
knife  were,  at  the  period  of  this  narrative,  all  the  law  and 
local  authority  recognized.  Witness  the  answer  President 
Houston  gave  when  application  was  first  made  to  him  for 
his  interposition  with  the  civil  force  to  quell  the  bloody 
"Regulator  Wars,"  which  afterwards  sprang  up  in  this 
very  same  county — "  Fight  it  out  among  yourselves,  and  be 
d — d  to  you !"  A  speech  entirely  characteristic  of  the  man 
,.  and  the  country,  as  it  then  was ! 

It  was  the  period  of  the  first  organization  of  the  Regulators 
to  which  our  story  refers.  Shelby,  in  the  latter  part  of  — 39, 
was  a  frontier  county,  and  bordering  upon  that  region  known 
as  the  Red  Lands,  was  the  receptacle  of  all  the  vilest  men 
who  had  been  driven  across  our  borders,  for  crimes  of  every 
degree  !  Horse  thieves,  and  villains  of  every  kind,  congre 
gated  in  such  numbers,  that  the  open  and  bare-faced  effort 
had  been  made  to  convert  it  into  a  sort  of  "  Alsatia"  of  the 
West — a  place  of  refuge  for  all  outlaws,  who  understood 
universally  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  the  most  perfect 
immunity  in  crime,  that  they  should  succeed  in  effecting  an 
escape  to  this  neighborhood,  where  they  would  be  publicly 
protected  and  pursuit  defied. 

The  extent  to  which  this  thing  was  carried  may  be  con 
jectured,  when  it  is  known  that  bands  of  men,  disguised  as 
Indians,  would  sally  forth  into  the  neighboring  districts, 
with  the  view  of  visiting  some  obnoxious  person  with  their 
vengeance — either  in  the  shape  of  robbery  or  murder. 
Returning  with  great  speed,  and  driving  the  valuable  stock 


THE   SHOT   IN   THE   EYE.  11 

before  them,  till  they  were  among  their  friends  again,  they 
would  re-brand  the  horses  and  mules,  resume  their  usual 
appearance,  and  laugh  at  retaliation.  Even  single  men 
would,  in  the  face  of  day,  commit  the  most  daring  crimes, 
trusting  to  an  escape  to  Shelby  for  protection.  They 
seemed  determined,  at  any  risk,  to  hold  the  county  good 
against  the  encroachments  of  all  honest  citizens ;  and  this 
came  to  be  so  notorious,  that  no  man  could  move  among 
them  with  any  citizen-like  and  proper  motives,  but  at  the 
expense  of  his  personal  safety  or  his  conscience — for  the 
crime  of  refusing  to  take  part  with  them,  was  in  itself 
sufficient  to  subject  all  new  comers  to  a  series  of  persecu 
tions,  which  soon  brought  them  into  terms,  or  resulted  in 
their  extermination. 

We  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  that  the  whole  population 
of  the  county  were  avowedly  horse  thieves  and  cut-throats ! 
There  was  one  different  class  of  wealthy  planters,  and  another 
of  the  old  stamp  of  restless  migrating  hunters,  who  first  led 
the  tide  of  population  over  the  Alleghanies.  These  two 
classes  made  some  pretensions  to  outward  decorum,  and  in 
various  ways  acted  as  restraints  upon  that  of  the  worse 
disposed ;  while  they,  with  that  utter  intolerance  of  restraint, 
which  so  unbounded  license  necessarily  engenders,  deter 
mined  to  submit  to  no  presence  which  should  in  any  way 
rebuke  or  embarrass  their  deeds.  Most  of  these  bad  men 
were  a  kind  of  small  land-holders,  who  only  cultivated 
patches  of  ground,  dotting  the  spaces  between  the  larger 
plantations;  but  they  kept  very  fine  horses,  and  depended 
more  on  their  speed  for  acquiring  plunder,  than  any 
capacity  of  their  own  for  labor. 

They  were  finally  wrought  up  to  the  last  pitch  of  restless 
ness  by  this  closing  around  of  unmanageable  persons,  and 
organized  themselves  into  a  band  of  Regulators,  as  they 
termed  themselves.  They  proclaimed  that  the  county  limits 
needed  purification,  and  that  they  felt  themselves  specially 


12 

called  to  the  work.  Accordingly,  under  the  lead  of  a  man, 
who  was  himself  a  brutal  monster,  named  Hinch,  they  com 
menced  operations.  In  this  public-spirited  and  praiseworthy 
operation,  they  soon  managed  to  reduce  the  county  to  the 
subjection  of  fear,  if  not  to  an  affectionate  recognition  of  the 
prerogatives  they  arrogated  to  themselves. 

The  richer  Planters  they  compelled  to  pay  a  heavy  black 
mail  rent,  in  fee  simple  of  a  right  to  enjoy  their  own  property 
and  lives,  with  the  further  understanding  that  they  were  to 
be  protected  in  these  immunities  from  all  danger  from  without 
of  a  similar  kind.  The  Planters,  in  return,  were  to  wink  upon 
any  deeds,  whose  coloring  might  otherwise  chance  to  be  offen 
sive  to  eyes  polite. 

The  other  class  of  simple-hearted  sturdy  men  were  goaded 
and  tortured  by  the  most  aggravated  annoyances,  until,  driven 
in  despair  to  some  act  of  retaliation,  they  furnished  their 
tyrants  with  the  shadow  of  an  excuse,  which  even  they  felt 
to  be  needed,  and  were  then  either  lynched  with  lashes 
and  warned  to  leave  the  county  in  so  many  days,  or  shot  if 
they  persisted  in  remaining  !  So  relentless  and  vindictive 
did  these  wretches  show  themselves  in  hunting  down  every 
one  who  dared  to  oppose  himself  to  them  in  any  way,  that 
very  soon  their  ascendency  in  the  county  was  almost  without 
any  dispute.  Indeed,  there  were  very  few  left  who  from  any 
cause  could  presume  to  do  so.  Among  these  few,  and  one  of 
this  last  class  of  wandering  hunters,  was  Jack  Long. 

Jack  had  come  of  a  "wild  turkey  breed,"  as  I  have  men 
tioned  the  phrase  to  be  in  the  West  for  a  family  remarkable 
for  its  wandering  propensities.  He  had  already  pushed  ahead 
of  two  States  and  a  Territory,  and  following  the  game  still 
farther  towards  the  south,  had  been  pleased  with  the  promise 
of  an  abundance  of  it  in  Shelby  county,  and  stopped  there, 
just  as  he  would  have  stopped  at  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Moun 
tains,  had  it  been  necessary  to  have  gone  so  far ;  without 
troubling  himself  or  caring  to  know  who  his  neighbors  were. 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE   EYE.  13 

He  had  never  thought  it  at  all  essential  to  ask  leave  of  any 
government  as  to  how  or  where  he  should  make  himself  a 
home,  or  even  to  inquire  what  particular  nation  put  in  its 
claim  to  any  region  that  suited  his  purposes.  His  heritage 
had  been  the  young  earth,  with  its  skies,  its  waters,  and  its 
winds,  its  huge  primeval  forests,  and  plains  throwing  out 
their  broad  breasts  to  the  sun — with  all  the  sights  and 
sounds  and  living  things  that  moved  and  were  articulate 
beneath  God's  eye — rand  what  cared  he  for  the  authority  of 
men! 

The  first,  indeed,  that  was  known  or  heard  of  Jack,  was 
when  he  had  already  built  him  a  snug  log-cabin,  on  the 
outskirts  of  the  county,  near  the  bank  of  a  small  stream — 
stowed  away  his  fair-faced  young  wife  and  two  children 
cosily  into  it,  and  was  busily  engaged  in  slaying  the  deer  and 
bear  right  and  left. 

He  kept  himself  so  much  to  himself,  that  for  a  long  time, 
little  was  thought  or  said  of  him.  His  passion  for  hunting 
seemed  so  absorbing,  he  did  nothing  else  but  follow  up 
the  game  from  morning  till  night,  and  it  was  so  abundant, 
that  he  had  full  opportunity  for  indulgence  to  his  entire 
content.  Beyond  this  he  seemed  to  have  no  pleasure,  but  in 
that  solitary  hut,  which,  however  rude,  held  associations  dear 
enough  to  fill  that  big  heart,  and  quicken  all  the  sluggish 
veins  of  that  ungainly  body.  Sometimes  one  of  the  Rangers 
would  come  across  him  alone  with  his  long  rifle,  amidst  the 
timber  island  of  the  plain,  or  in  the  deep  woods;  and  he 
always  appeared  to  have  been  so  successful,  that  the  rumor 
gradually  got  abroad  that  he  was  a  splendid  shot.  This 
attracted  attention  somewhat  more  to  his  apparently  unsocial 
and  solitary  habits.  They  had  the  curiosity  to  watch  him, 
and  when  they  saw  how  devoted  he  was  to  his  wife,  the  gibe 
became  general  that  he  was  a  "  hen-pecked  husband,  under 
petticoat  government,"  and  other  like  gratifying  expressions. 

This,  taken  in  connecti  m  with  his  lolling,  awkward  gait,  and 
B 


14  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

rather  excessive  expression  of  simplicity  and  easy  temper, 
disposed  these  harsh,  rude  men,  very  greatly  to  sneer  at  him 
as  a  soft  fellow,  who  could  be  run  over  with  impunity.  They 
even  bullied  him  with  taunts — but  Jack  looked  like  such  a 
formidable  customer  to  be  taken  hold  of,  that  no  one  of 
them  felt  disposed  to  push  him  too  far,  and  risk  being  made, 
individually,  the  subject  of  a  display  of  the  strength  indicated 
in  the  great  size  of  his  body  and  limbs.  He  was  upward 
of  six  feet  four  in  height,  with  shoulders  like  the  butresses 
of  a  tower,  a  small  head,  and  other  proportions  developed  in 
fine  symmetry.  Indeed, — but  for  a  slight  inclination  to 
corpulency,  and  that  sluggishness  of  manner  we  have  spoken 
of,  which  made  him  seem  too  lazy  even  to  undertake  the 
feat — he  looked  just  the  man  who  could  take  a  buflalo  bull 
by  the  horns  amidst  his  bellowing  peers,  and  bring  him  to 
the  ground  with  all  his  shaggy  bulk. 

Finding  they  could  not  tempt  him  to  a  personal  fray,  they 
changed  the  note,  and  by  every  sort  of  cajolery  endeavored 
to  enlist  the  remarkable  physical  energy  and  skill  he  was 
conjectured  to  possess,  in  the  service  of  their  schemes  of 
brutal  violence.  But  Jack  waived  all  sort  of  participation 
in  them  with  a  smiling  and  unvarying  good-humor,  which, 
although  it  enraged  the  baffled  ruffians,  gave  them  no  possible 
excuse  for  provocation.  They  would  not  have  regarded  this, 
but  there  was  still  less  invitation  in  that  formidable  person 
and  long  rifle ;  and  somehow  or  other,  they  had  an  undefined 
sense  that  the  man  was  not  "at  himself,"  as  the  phrase 
goes  in  the  West — that  he  had  not  yet  been  roused  to  a 
consciousness  of  his  own  energies  and  capabilities,  and  they 
were,  without  acknowledging  it,  a  little  averse  to  waking  him. 

They  finally  gave  him  up,  therefore,  and  Jack  might  have 
been  left  in  peace  to  love  Molly  and  the  children  as  hard 
as  he  pleased,  and  indulge  his  passion  for  marksmanship 
only  at  the  expense  of  the  dumb,  wild  things  around  him, 
but  that  he  was  led  to  make  an  unfortunate  display  of  it. 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE   EYE.  15 

A  few  log  huts  near  the  centre,  constituted  the  county 
town.  Here  was  the  grocery,  or  store,  as  it  was  dignified — 
at  which  alone  powder  and  lead  and  whiskey  were  to  be 
obtained  for  many  miles  around.  Jack  happened  to  get 
out  of  ammunition,  and  came  into  this  place  for  a  supply. 
Attracted  by  the  whiskey,  this  was  the  head-quarters  of 
the  Regulators,  and  they  were  all  collected  for  a  grand 
shooting-match,  and  of  course  getting  drunk  as  fast  as 
possible,  to  steady  their  nerves. 

When  Jack  arrived,  he  found  them  gathered  in  a  group 
under  a  cluster  of  trees,  several  hundred  yards  from  the 
house.  It  had  been  some  time  since  there  had  been  any 
altercation  between  any  of  them  and  himself;  and  though 
he  supposed  it  was  all  forgotten,  yet  he  felt  some  little 
disinclination  to  joining  them,  and  had  resolved  not  to  do 
it.  But  as  once,  and  again  and  again,  that  sharp  report  he 
loved  so  well  to  hear,  would  ring  out,  followed  by  the  clamors, 
exclamations  and  eager  grouping  of  the  men  around  the 
target,  to  critically  examine  the  result  of  each  shot,  his 
passion  for  the  sport,  and  curiosity  to  see  how  others  shot, 
overcame  a  half-defined  feeling  that  he  was  going  to  do 
what,  for  Molly's  sake,  was  an  imprudent  thing. 

Hinch,  the  Regulator  captain,  had  always  been  the 
unrivalled  hero  of  such  occasions;  for,  apart  from  the  fact 
that  he  was  really  an  admirable  shot,  he  was  known  to  b. 
BO  fierce,  blustering  and  vindictive  a  bully,  that  nobody 
dared  try  very  hard  to  beat  him,  since  he  would  be  sure  to 
make  a  personal  affair  of  it  with  whoever  presumed  to  be 
so  lucky  or  so  skillful.  Now,  everybody  in  the  county  was 
aware  of  this  but  Jack,  and  he  was  either  not  aware,  or  did 
not  care  for  the  matter,  if  he  did  know  it.  He  knew,  though, 
that  Hinch  was  a  famous  shot ;  and  noticing  that  he  was 
preparing  to  shoot,  started  to  join  them,  determined  to  see 
for  himself  what  they  called  good  shooting. 

He  came  swinging  himself  carelessly  among  them,  with 


16  JACK  LONG;  on, 

long,  heavy  strides,  as  they  were  all  vociferating  in  half- 
drunken  raptures  over  the  glorious  shot  just  made  by  Hinch, 
— and  he,  in  his  customary  manner,  was  swearing  and  raving 
at  every  one  around  him,  and  taunting  them  with  their 
bungling,  and  defying  them  to  try  again. 

Observing  Jack,  he  jerked  the  target  away,  and  with  a 
loud,  grating  laugh,  thrust  it,  insultingly,  close  to  his  face. 

"  Hah  !  Jack  Long-legs  !  they  say  you  can  shoot !  Look 
at  that!  look  close,  will  you?"  pushing  it  close  to  his  eyes. 
"Can  you  beat  it?" 

Jack  stepped  back,  and  looking  deliberately  at  the  target, 
said  very  drily — 

"  Pshaw !  the  cross  aint  clean  out !  I  shouldn't  think  I 
was  doin'  any  great  things  to  beat  such  shootin'  as  that !" 

"You  shouldn't,  shouldn't  you?"  roared  Hinch,  furious 
at  Jack's  coolness.  "  You'll  try  it,  wont  you  ?  I'd  like  to 
see  you!  You  must  try  it!  You  shall  try  it!  We'll  see 
what  sort  of  a  swell  you  are  !" 

"  Oh !"  said  Jack,  altogether  unruffled,  "If  I  must,  I  must ! 
Put  up  his  board  thar,  men.  If  you  want  to  see  me  shoot 
through  every  hole  you  can  make,  I'll  do  it  for  ye !" 

And  walking  back  to  the  "  off-hand"  stand  at  forty  paces, 
by  the  time  the  "  markers"  had  placed  the  board  against  the 
tree,  he  had'  wheeled,  and,  slowly  swinging  his  long  rifle 
down  from  his  shoulders  to  the  level,  fired  as  quick  as 
thought. 

"It's  fun  of  mine !"  remarked  he,  nodding  his  head  towards 

Hinch,  who  stood  near,  while  he  was  lowering  his  gun  to  the 

position  for  reloading.     "  It's  a  trick  I  caught  from  always 

shooting  the  varmints'  eyes !  I  never  takes  'em  anywhar  else  ! 

^It's  a  way  I've  got !" 

At  this  moment  the  men  standing  near  the  target,  who 
had  rushed  instantly  with  great  eagerness  to  see  the  result, 
shouted,  while  one  of  the  "  markers"  held  it  aloft — "  He's 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE   EYE.  17 

done  it !  His  ball  is  the  biggest — he's  driv  it  through  your 
hole  and  made  it  wider !" 

Hinch  turned  pale.  Rushing  forward  he  tore  the  target 
away  from  the  "marker,"  and  examining  it  minutely,  shouted 
hoarsely — 

"  It's  an  accident !  He  can't  do  it  again  !  He's  a  humbug  ! 
I'll  bet  the  ears  of  a  buffalo  calf  agin  his  that  he  can't  do 
it  agin  !  He's  afraid  to  shooot  with  me  agin  !" 

"Oh!"  said  Jack,  winking  aside  at  the  men,  "If  you  mean 
by  that  bet,  your  ears  against  mine,  I'll  take  it  up !  Boys, 
fit  a  new  board  up  thar,  with  a  nice  cross  in  the  centre,  and 
I  will  show  the  Captain  here,  the  clean  thing  in  shootin' !" 

As  he  said  this  he  laughed  good-humoredly,  and  the  men 
could  not  help  joining  him. 

Hinch,  who  was  loading  his  gun,  said  nothing ;  but  glared 
around  with  white  compressed  lips  and  a  chafed  look  of  stifled 
fury,  which  made  those  who  knew  the  man  shudder.  The 
men,  who  were  in  reality  puzzled  to  tell  whether  Jack's 
manner  indicated  contempt  or  unconscious  simplicity,  looked 
on  the  progress  of  this  scene,  and  for  the  result  of  the  coming 
trial,  with  intense  curiosity. 

The  new  board  was  now  ready,  and  Hinch  stepped  forward 
with  great  parade  to  make  his  shot.  After  aiming  a  long 
time — he  fired.  The  men  were  around  the  board  in  a 
moment,  and  instantly  proclaimed  a  first-rate  shot.  And 
so  it  was.  The  edge  of  the  ball  had  broken  without  touching 
the  centre.  Jack,  with  the  same  inexplicable  coolness  which 
marked  his  whole  bearing,  and  without  the  slightest  hesitation, 
shaking  his  head  as  he  took  his  stand,  remarked — 

"  'Twon't  do  yet — 'taint  plumb — 'taint  the  clean  thing 
yet,  boys ;"  and  throwing  out  his  long  rifle  again  in  the 
same  heedless  style,  fired  before  one  could  think.  The  men 
sprang  forward  and  announced  that  the  centre  was  cut  out 
with  the  most  exact  and  perfect  nicety.  At  the  same  moment, 

B2  2 


18  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

and  greatly  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one,  Jack  walked 
deliberately  off  towards  the  store,  without  waiting  to  hear 
the  announcement. 

"Hah!"  shouted  Hinch  furiously,  after  him,  "I  thought 
you  was  a  coward  !  Look  at  the  sneak  !  Come  back  !"  He 
fairly  roared,  starting  after  him,  "  Come  back,  you  can't 
shoot  as  well  before  a  muzzle." 

Jack  walked  on  without  turning  his  head,  while  the  Regu 
lator,  almost  convulsed  with  fury,  shouted,  "  Ha !  ha !  see, 
the  coward  is  running  away  to  hide  under  his  wife's  petti 
coats  !"  and  long  and  loud  he  pealed  the  harsh  taunt  after 
Jack's  retreat. 

The  men,  who  at  first  had  been  greatly  astonished  at  the 
rash  daring  which  could  thus  have  ventured  to  beard  the 
lion  in  his  most  formidable  mood,  and  felt  the  instinctive 
admiration  with  which  such  traits  always  inspire  such  breasts, 
now,  on  seeing  what  appeared  so  palpable  a  "back-out," 
joined  also  in  the  laugh  with  Hinch. 

They  thought  it  was  cowardice !  A  holy  sentiment  they 
could  not  understand,  kept  watch  and  ward  over  the  terrible 
repose  of  passion.  If  they  only  could  have  seen  how  that 
broad  massive  face  was  wrenched  and  grew  white  with  the 
deep  inward  spasm  of  pride  struggling  for  the  mastery,  as 
those  gibes,  so  hard  to  be  borne  by  a  free  hunter,  rung  upon 
his  ears,  they  would  have  taken  warning  to  beware  how  they 
farther  molested  that  slumber  of  fierce  energies. 

The  strong  man  in  reality  had  never  been  waked.  His 
consciousness  was  aware  only  of  a  single  passion,  and  that 
controlled  and  curbed  all  others.  The  image  of  his  wife 
and  children  rose  above  the  swelling  tumult,  which  shook 
his  heavy  frame.  He  saw  them  deserted  and  helpless,  with 
no  protection  in  this  wild  and  lawless  region,  should  he  fall 
in  a  struggle  with  such  fearful  odds.  For  all  these  men  were 
the  willing  slaves,  the  abject  tools,  of  the  ferocious  vices  of 
his  brutal  insulter;  and  it  would  have  been  a  contest,  not 


THE    SHOT   IN   THE    EYE.  19 

with  him  alone,  but  with  all  of  them.  This  was  stronger 
than  pride  with  Jack,  and  he  walked  on. 

But  he  had  incurred  the  hate  of  Hinch — relentless  and 
unsparing.  To  be  shorn  in  so  unceremonious  a  manner  of 
the  very  reputation  he  prided  himself  most  upon,  in  the 
presence  of  his  men ;  to  be  deprived  of  so  fruitful  a  theme 
of  self-glorification  and  boasting,  as  the  reputation  of  being 
the  foremost  marksman  the  frontier  afforded,  was  too  much 
for  the  pride  of  the  thick-blooded,  malignant  savage ;  and 
he  swore  to  dog  the  inoffensive  hunter  to  the  death,  or  out 
of  the  county. 

From  this  time,  the  even  tenor  of  Jack's  simple,  happy  life 
was  destroyed,  and  indignity  and  outrage  followed  each  other 
fast. 

Shortly  after,  a  horse  was  stolen  from  a  rich  and  powerful 
Planter  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  town.  The  animal  was  a 
fine  one,  and  the  Planter  was  greatly  enraged  at  the  loss ; 
for  he  was  one  of  those  who  paid  "black-mail"  to  the  Regu 
lators  for  protection  from  all  such  annoyances, — immunity 
from  depredations  not  only  by  themselves,  but  from  any 
other  quarter.  He  now  called  upon  them  to  hunt  down  the 
thief,  as  they  were  bound  under  the  contract  to  do,  and 
return  the  horse. 

Hinch  collected  his  band  with  great  parade,  and  proceeded 
to  follow  the  trail,  which  was  readily  discoverable  near  the 
planter's  house. 

Late  in  the  evening  he  returned  and  answered,  that  after 
tracing  it  with  great  difficulty  through  many  devious  windings, 
evidently  intended  to  puzzle  pursuit,  he  had  at  last  been  led 
directly  to  the  near  vicinity  of  Jack  Long's  hut.  This  created 
much  surprise,  for  no  one  had  suspected  Jack  of  bad  habits. 
But  Hinch  and  his  villains  bruited  far  and  wide  all  the 
circumstances  tending  to  criminate  him.  After  making 
these  things  as  notorious  as  possible,  attracting  as  great  a 
degree  of  public  curiosity  as  he  could  to  the  further  investi- 


20  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

gation,  which  he  professed  to  be  carrying  on  for  the  purpose 
of  fixing  the  hunter's  guilt  beyond  a  doubt,  the  horse  was 
found  tied  with  a  lariat  to  a  tree,  in  a  dense  bottom  near 
Jack's  hut. 

This  seemed  to  settle  the  question  of  his  criminality,  and 
a  general  outcry  was  raised  against  him  on  every  side.  For, 
though  the  majority  of  those  most  clamorous  against  him 
were  horse  thieves  themselves,  yet,  according  to  the  doctrine 
of  "honor  among  thieves,"  there  could  be  no  greater  or  more 
unpardonable  enormity  committed,  than  that  of  stealing  among 
themselves. 

"He  must  be  warned  to  quit  the  county,"  was  in  the 
mouth  of  every  body,  and  accordingly  he  was  privately 
warned.  Jack,  with  great  simplicity,  gave  them  to  under 
stand,  that  he  was  not  ready  to  go,  and  that  when  he  was, 
he  should  leave  at  his  leisure ;  but  that  if  his  convenience 
and  theirs  did  not  agree,  they  might  make  the  most  of  it. 
This  left  no  alternative  but  force ;  and  yet  no  individual  felt 
disposed  to  take  the  personal  responsibility  upon  himself  of 
a  collision  with  so  unpromising  a  person ;  and  even  Hinch, 
eager  as  he  was,  did  not  feel  that  the  circumstances  were 
quite  strong  enough  to  justify  the  extremes  to  which  he 
intended  pushing  his  vengeance. 

Singular  instances  of  the  most  vile  and  wanton  spite  now 
began  to  occur  in  various  parts  of  the  region  around.  At 
quick  intervals,  valuable  horses  and  mules  were  found  shot 
dead  close  to  the  dwellings  of  the  Planters,  as  it  seemed, 
without  the  slightest  provocation  for  such  unheard-of  cruelty. 
The  rumor  soon  got  out  that  all  these  animals  might  be 
observed  to  belong  to  those  persons  who  had  made  themselves 
most  active  in  denouncing  Jack  Long.  Then  was  noticed 
the  curious  fact,  that  all  of  them  were  shot  through  the  eye ! 
This  was  at  once  associated  with  the  memorable  remark  of 
Jack,  and  his  odd  feat  of  firing  through  a  bullet  hole  at  the 


THE   SHOT  IN  THE   EYE.  21 

shooting-match.  This  seemed  to  designate  him  certainly  as 
the  guilty  man;  and  as  animal  after  animal  continued  to 
fall,  every  one  of  them  slain  in  the  same  way,  a  perfect 
blaze  of  indignation  burst  out  on  all  sides. 

The  whole  country  was  roused,  and  the  excitement  became 
universal  and  intense.  In  the  estimation  of  every  body, 
hanging,  drawing  and  quartering,  burning,  lynching,  any 
thing  was  too  good  for  such  a  monster.  All  this  feeling 
was  most  industriously  fomented  by  Hinch  and  his  myrmi 
dons,  until  things  had  reached  the  proper  crisis.  Then  a 
county  meeting  was  got  up,  at  which  one  of  the  Planters 
presided,  and  resolutions  were  passed  that  Jack  Long,  as  a 
bad  citizen,  should  be  lynched  and  driven  from  the  county 
forthwith.  Hinch,  of  course,  dictated  a  resolution  which  he 
was  to  have  the  pleasure  of  carrying  into  effect. 

In  the  meantime,  Jack  had  given  himself  very  little  trouble 
about  what  was  said  of  him.  He  had  kept  himself  so  entirely 
apart  from  everybody  that  he  was  nearly  in  perfect  ignorance 
of  what  was  going  on.  The  deer  fell  before  his  unerring 
rifle  in  as  great  numbers  as  ever.  The  bear  rendered  up 
its  shaggy  coat,  the  panther  its  tawny  hide,,  in  as  frequent 
trophies,  to  the  unique  skill  of  the  hunter ! 

One  evening  he  had  returned,  laden  down  as  usual  with 
the  spoils,  to  his  hut.  It  was  a  snug  little  lodge  in  the 
wilderness,  that  home  of  Jack's.  It  stood  beneath  the  shade 
of  an  island  grove,  on  a  hill-side,  overlooking  a  thicket 
which  bordered  a  small  stream.  The  gray,  silvery  moss 
hung  its  matchless  drapery  in  long  fringes  from  the  old 
wide-armed  oak  above,  and  that  mild,  but  most  pervading 
odor,  which  the  winds  are  skillful  to  steal  from  the  breath 
of  leaves,  the  young  grass  growing,  and  the  panting  languish- 
ment  of  delicate  wild  flowers,  filled  the  whole  atmosphere 
around.  These  were  the  perfumes  and  the  sights  the  coy, 
exacting  taste  of  a  bold  rover  of  the  solitudes  must  have. 


22  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

The  fresh  face  of  nature,  and  her  breathing  sweet  as  child 
hood's,  could  alone  satisfy  the  senses  and  the  soul  of  one 
grown  thus  in  love  with  the  freedom  of  the  wilderness. 

The  round,  happy  face  of  his  wife  greeted  him  with  smiles 
from  the  door  as  he  approached,  while  his  little  boy  and 
girl,  nut-brown  and  ruddy,  strove,  with  emulous,  short  steps, 
pattering  over  the  thick  grass,  to  meet  him  first,  and  clinging 
to  his  fingers,  prattled  and  shouted  to  tell  their  mother  of 
his  coming.  He  entered,  and  the  precious  rifle  was  carefully 
deposited  on  the  accustomed  "hooks"  of  buck's  horns  nailed 
against  the  wall.  The  smoking  meal  her  tidy  care  had 
prepared  was  soon  despatched,  and  the  hunting  adventures 
of  the  day  told  over. 

Then  he  threw  himself  with  his  huge  length  along  the 
buffalo  robe  on  the  floor,  to  rest  and  have  a  romp  with  the 
children.  While  they  were  climbing  and  scrambling  in 
riotous  joy  about  him,  his  wife  spoke  for  some  water  for  her 
domestic  affairs.  It  was  hard  for  the  children  to  give  up 
their  frolic,  but  Molly's  wish  was  a  strong  law  with  Jack. 
Bounding  up,  he  seized  a  vessel  and  started  for  the  stream, 
the  little  ones  pouting  wistfully  as  they  looked  after  him 
from  the  door. 

It  was  against  Jack's  religion  to  step  outside  the  door 
without  his  rifle ;  but  this  time  Molly  was  in  a  hurry  for  the 
water,  there  was  no  time  to  get  the  gun,  and  it  was  but  a 
short  distance  to  the  stream. 

He  sprang  gaily  along  the  narrow  path  down  the  hill,  and 
reached  the  brink.  The  water  had  been  dipped  up,  and  he 
was  returning  at  a  rapid  pace  through  the  thicket,  when, 
where  it  was  very  high  and  bordered  close  upon  the  path, 
he  suddenly  felt  something  tap  him  on  each  shoulder,  and 
his  progress  impeded  strangely.  At  the  same  instant  a 
number  of  men  rushed  from  ambush  on  each  side  of  him, 
several  of  them  holding  the  end  of  the  stout  raw-hide  lasso 
which  they  had  thrown  over  him.  He  instantly  put  forth  all 


THE  SHOT  IN  THE   EYE.  28 

his  tremendous  strength  in  a  convulsive  effort  to  get  free ;  and 
BO  powerful  was  his  frame,  that  he  would  have  succeeded, 
but  for  the  sure  skill  with  which  the  lasso  had  been  thrown, 
that  bound  him  over  either  arm  As  it  was,  his  remarkable 
vigor,  nerved  by  desperation,  was  sufficient  to  drag  the  six 
strong  men,  who  clung  to  the  rope,  after  him.  He  heard 
the  voice  of  Hinch  shout  eagerly,  "  Down  with  him  !  drag 
him  down !"  At  that  hateful  sound  a  supernatural  activity 
possessed  him,  and  writhing  with  a  quick  spring  that  shook 
off  those  who  clung  about  his  limbs,  he  had  almost  succeeded 
in  reaching  his  own  door,  when  a  heavy  blow  from  behind 
felled  him.  The  last  objects  which  met  his  eye  as  he  sunk 
down  insensible,  were  the  terror-stricken  and  agonized  faces 
of  his  wife  and  children  looking  out  upon  him. 

When  he  awoke  to  consciousness,  it  was  to  find  himself 
nearly  stripped,  and  lashed  to  the  oak  which  spread  above 
his  hut.  Hinch,  with  a  look  of  devilish  exultation,  stood 
before  him ;  his  wife,  wailing  with  piteous  lamentations,  clung 
about  the  monster's  knees;  the  children,  endeavoring  to 
hide  their  faces  in  her  dress,  screamed  in  affright;  while 
outside  the  group,  eight  or  nine  men,  with  guns  in  their 
hands,  stood  in  a  circle. 

That  was  a  fearful  wakening  to  Jack  Long ;  but  it  was  to 
a  new  birth  !  His  eye  took  in  all  the  details  of  the  scene 
at  a  glance.  His  enemy  grinning  in  his  face  with  wolfish 
triumph;  the  "quirt,"  with  its  long,  heavy  lash  of  knotted 
raw-hide,  in  his  hand.  He  saw  the  brute  spurn  her  violently 
with  his  foot,  until  she  pitched  against  the  wretches  around ; 
and  he  heard  them  shout  with  laughter. 

A  sharp,  electric  agony,  like  the  riving  of  an  oak,  shivered 
along  his  nerves,  passed  out  at  his  fingers  and  his  feet,  and 
left  him  rigid  as  marble ;  and  when  the  blows  of  the  hideous 
mocking  devil  before  him  fell  upon  his  white  flesh,  making 
it  welt  in  purple  ridges,  or  spout  dull  black  currents,  he  felt 
them  no  more  than  the  dead  lintel  of  his  door  would  have 


24 


JACK  LONG;  OR, 


done ;  and  the  agony  of  that  poor  wife  shrilling  a  frantic 
echo  to  every  harsh,  slashing  sound,  seemed  to  have  no  more 
effect  upon  his  ear  than  it  had  upon  the  tree  above  them, 
which  shook  its  green  leaves  to  the  self-same  cadence  they 
had  held  yesterday  in  the  breeze.  His  wide  open  eyes  were 
glancing  calmly  and  scrutinizingly  into  the  faces  of  the  men 
around — those  features  are  never  to  be  forgotten  ! — for  while 
Hinch  lays  on  the  stripes  with  all  his  furious  strength, 
blaspheming  as  they  fell,  that  glance  dwells  on  each  face  with 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE   EYE.  25 

a  cold,  keen,  searching  intensity,  as  if  it  marked  them 
to  be  remembered  forever !  The  man's  air  was  awful — so 
concentrated — so  still— so  enduring!  He  never  spoke,  or 
groaned,  or  writhed — but  those  intense  eyes  of  his! — the 
wretches  couldn't  stand  them,  and  began  to  shuffle  and  get 
behind  each  other.  But  it  was  too  late;  he  had  them  all — 
ten  men  !  THEY  WERE  REGISTERED. 

We  will  drop  a  curtain  'over  this  scene.  It.  is  enough 
to  say  that  they  left  him  for  dead,  lying  in  his  blood,  his 
wife  swooning  on  the  ground,  with  the  children  weeping 
plaintively  over  her;  and  silence  and  darkness  fell  around 
the  desolate  group  as  the  sun  went  down,  which  had  risen 
in  smiles  upon  the  innocent  happiness  of  that  simple  family. 

Nothing  more  was  seen  or  heard  of  Jack  Long.  His  hut 
was  deserted,  and  his  family  had  disappeared,  nor  did  any 
one  know  or  care  what  had  become  of  them.  For  awhile 
there  were  various  rumors,  but  the  affair  was  soon  forgotten 
amidst  the  frequent  occurrence  of  similar  scenes. 

It  was  about  four  months  after  this  affair,  that  in  company 
with  a  friend,  I  was  traversing  "Western  Texas.  Our  objects 
were  to  see  this  portion  of  the  country,  and  amuse  ourselves 
in  hunting  for  a  time  over  any  district  we  found  well  adapted 
for  a  particular  sport — as  for  bear  hunting,  deer  hunting, 
buffalo  hunting,  &c.  Prairie,  timber  and  water  were  better 
distributed  in  Shelby  than  any  Western  county  we  had  passed 
through — the  timber  predominating  over  the  prairie,  though 
interlaid  by  it  in  every  direction.  This  diversity  of  surface 
attracted  a  greater  variety  of  game,  as  well  as  afforded  more 
perfect  facilities  to  the  sportsman.  Indeed,  it  struck  us  as  a 
perfect  Hunter's  Paradise;  and  my  friend  remembering  a 
man  of  some  wealth,  who  had  moved  from  his  native  State, 
and  settled,  as  he  had  understood,  in  Shelby,  we  inquired  for 
him,  and  very  readily  found  him. 

We  were  most  hospitably  received,  and  horses,  servants, 
guns,  dogs,  and  whatever  else  was  necessary  to  ensure  our 


26  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

enjoyment  of  the  sports  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  time 
of  our  host  himself,  were  forthwith  at  our  disposal,  and  we 
were  soon,  to  our  hearts'  content,  engaged  in  every  character 
of  exciting  chase. 

One  day  several  of  the  neighbors  were  invited  to  join  us, 
and  all  our  force  was  mustered  for  a  grand  "  Deer  Drive." 
In  this  sport  dogs  are  used,  and  under  the  charge  of  the 
"  Driver"  they  are  taken  into  the  wood  for  the  purpose  of 
rousing  and  driving  out  the  deer,  who  have  a  habit  of  always 
passing  out  from  one  line  of  timber  to  another,  at  or  near 
the  same  place,  and  these  spots  are  either  known  to  the 
hunters  from  experience  or  observation  of  the  nature  of  the 
ground.  At  these  "crossing  places"  the  "standers"  are 
stationed  with  their  rifles,  to  watch  for  the  coming  out  of 
the  deer,  who  are  shot  as  they  go  by.  On  getting  to  the 
ground,  we  divided  into  two  parties,  each  flanking  up  the 
opposite  edge  of  a  line  of  timber,  over  a  mile  in  width,  while 
the  "Driver"  penetrated  it  with  the  dogs. 

On  our  side,  the  sport  was  unusually  good,  till,  wearied 
with  slaughter,  we  returned  late  in  the  afternoon  towards  the 
planter's  house,  to  partake  of  a  dinner  of  game  with  him 
before  the  party  should  separate.  It  was  near  sundown 
when  we  dismounted.  Soon  after  we  were  seated,  it  was 
announced  that  dinner  was  ready.  All  had  come  in  except 
my  friend,  whose  name  was  Henrie,  and  a  man  namel 
Stoner.  We  sat  down,  and  were  doing  undoubted  justice 
to  the  fare — when  Henrie,  who  was  an  impulsive,  voluble 
soul,  came  bustling  into  the  room  with  something  of  unusual 
flurry  in  his  manner,  beginning  to  talk  by  the  time  he  got 
his  head  into  the  door — 

"  I  say,  Squire !  what  sort  of  a  country  is  this  of  yours  ? 
Catamounts,  buffalos,  horned  frogs,  centipedes,  one  would 
think  were  strange  creatures  enough  for  a  single  country ; 
but,  by  George !  I  met  something  to-day  which  lays  them 
all  in  the  shade." 


THE   SHOT   IN   THE   EYE.  21 

"  What  was  it  ?     What  was  it  like  ?" 

Without  noticing  these  questions,  he  continued,  addressing 
our  host  in  the  same  excited  tone — 

"  Have  you  no  cages  for  madmen  ?  Do  you  let  them 
run  wild  through  the  woods  with  rifle  in  hand?  Or,  does 
your  confounded  Texas  breed  ghosts  amongst  other  curious 
creatures  ?" 

"Not  that  I  know  of,"  said  the  Squire,  smilingly  inter 
posing,  as  the  young  fellow  stopped  to  catch  his  breath; 
"But  you  look  flurried  enough  to  have  seen  a  ghost.  What's 
happened  ?" 

"  Yes,  what  is  it  ?"  "  Out  with  it  ?"  "  Have  you  seen 
the  Old  Harry?"  Such  exclamations  as  this,  accompanied 
by  laughter,  ran  around  the  table,  while  Henrie  drew  a  long 
breath,  wiped  his  forehead,  and  threw  himself  into  a  chair. 
Our  curiosity  was  irresistibly  excited,  and  as  Henrie  com 
menced,  the  whole  company  leant  forward  eagerly. 

"  You  know,  when  we  parted,  that  Stoner  and  myself  went 
up  the  right  flank  of  the  timber.  Stoner  was  to  take  me  to 
my  stand,  and  then  pass  on  to  his  own,  some  miles  further 
down  the  stream.  He  accordingly  left  me,  and  I  have  not 
seen  him  since.  By  the  way,  I  perceive  that  he  is  not  here," 
he  exclaimed,  looking  sharply  around  the  room. 

"  Oh,  he'll  be  here  directly,"  said  several.     "  Go  on  !" 

"  I  hope  so,"  he  replied,  in  rather  an  undertone.  "  Well, 
I  was  pretty  thoroughly  tired  of  waiting  before  I  heard  the 
dogs,  but  that  music,  you  know,  stirs  the  blood,  and  one 
forgets  to  be  tired.  In  a  few  minutes  a  fine  buck  came 
bounding  by,  and  I  fired.  He  pitched  forward  on  his  knees 
at  the  shot,  but  recovered  and  made  off.  I  knew  he  must  be 
badly  hit,  and  sprang  upon  my  horse  to  follow  him." 

"Rather  a  verdant  act,  that  of  yours,"  interrupted  the 
Squire. 

"Yes;  I  found  it  to  be  so.  After  a  pursuit  of  some 
twenty  minutes,  at  full  speed,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  might 


28  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

get  lost  among  the  motts,  and  reined  up.  But  it  was  too 
late.  I  was  lost  already.  How  I  cursed  that  deer  as  his 
white  tail  disappeared  in  the  distance  between  two  bushes. 
I  had  common  sense  enough  left  not  to  go  very  far  in  any 
one  direction,  but  kept  widening  my  circles  about  the  place 
where  I  halted,  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  traces  of  some  one 
of  the  party ;  at  last,  to  my  great  relief,  I  came  upon  an  old 
disused  wagon  trail,  which,  though  the  winding  way  it  held 
promised  to  lead  to  nowhere  in  particular,  yet  went  to  show 
that  I  could  not  be  very  far  from  some  habitation. 

"  I  was  following  it  through  a  high,  tangled  thicket,  which 
rose  close  on  either  hand;  and  stooping  over  my  horse's 
neck,  was  looking  closely  at  the  ground,  when  the  violent 
shying  of  my  horse,  made  me  raise  my  eyes — and,  by  heaven, 
it  was  enough  to  have  stampeded  a  regiment  of  horse ! 

"  Just  before  me  on  the  right  hand,  with  one  foot  advanced, 
as  if  it  had  paused  in  the  act  of  stepping  across  the  road, 
stood  a  tall,  gaunt,  skeleton-like  figure,  dressed  in  skins,  with 
the  hair  out — a  confounded  long  beard — and  such  eyes  !  It 
is  impossible  to  imagine  them.  They  didn't  move  at  all  in 
the  shaggy  hollow  sockets,  more  than  if  they  were  frozen  in 
them ;  and  the  glare  that  streamed  out  from  them  was  so 
cold  and  freezing  !  It  startled  my  nerves  so  strangely,  that 
I  came  near  dropping  my  gun,  though  he  was  just  swinging 
a  long  rifle  down  to  the  level,  bearing  on  me." 

"  Why  didn't  you  shoot  ?" 

"  Ay !  why  didn't  I  ?  I  did  not  think  of  self-defence,  but 
of  those  eyes.  The  rifle  was  suspended,  but  they  fairly  clung 
upon  my  features  till  I  conceived  I  could  feel  the  ice-spots 
curdle  beneath  my  skin  as  they  crept  slowly  along  each 
lineament.  The  fact  is,  I  caught  myself  shuddering — it 
was  so  ghostly !  After  regarding  me  in  this  way  about 
ten  seconds,  he  seemed  to  be  satisfied ;  the  rifle  was  slowly 
thrown  back  on  the  shoulder,  and  with  an  impatient  twitch 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE  EYE.  29 

at  his  long  grisly  beard  with  his  bony  fingers,  and  a  single 
stride  which  carried  him  across  the  road,  he  plunged  into 
the  bushes  without  a  word. 

"  I  started  in  vexation  at  my  stupidity,  and  shouted.  He 
did  not  turn  his  head.  I  was  now  enraged,  and  spurred  my 
horse  after  him  into  the  thicket,  as  far  as  we  could  penetrate, 
but  lost  sight  of  him  in  a  moment.  I  felt  as  if  I  had  seen 
the  devil  sure  enough,  and  actually  went  back  to  see  if  he 
had  left  any  tracks  behind." 

Everybody  drew  a  long  breath.  "I  warrant  you  found 
'em  cloven  !"  said  one.  "  Didn't  you  smell  sul — " 

"Never  mind  what  I  smelt — I  found  a  very  long  moccasined 
track,  or  I  should  have  been  convinced  I  had  seen  something 
supernatural.  I  think  he  must  be  some  maniac  wild  man." 

"He's  a  strange  animal,  any  how."  "Singular  affair," 
was  buzzed  around  the  table. 

"Hear  me  out!"  said  Henrie.  "After  this  incident,  I 
continued  to  follow  the  devious  windings  of  this  road,  which 
seemed  to  turn  towards  each  of  the  cardinal  points  in  the 
hour,  until  my  patience  was  nearly  exhausted;  and  it  was 
not  till  after  sunset  that  it  finally  led  me  out  into  the 
prairie,  the  features  of  which  I  thought  I  recognized.  I 
stopped  and  looked  around  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying 
myself,  when  suddenly  a  horse  burst  from  the  thicket  behind 
me,  and  went  tearing  off  over  the  plain,  with  every  indication 
of  excessive  fright,  snorting  furiously,  his  head  turned  back, 
and  stirrups  flying  in  the  air." 

"  What  sort  of  a  horse  ?"  "  What  color  was  he  ?"  several 
broke  in,  with  breathless  impatience. 

"  He  was  too  far  off  for  me  to  tell  in  the  dusk,  more  than 
that  he  was  a  dark  horse, — say  the  color  of  mine." 

"  Stoner's  horse  was  a  dark  brown !"  some  one  said,  in  a 
low  voice,  while  the  party  moved  uneasily  on  their  chairs, 
and  looked  at  each  other. 

C2 


30  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

There  was  a  pause.  The  Squire  got  up,  and  walked  with 
a  fidgetty  manner  towards  the  window  to  look  out,  and  turning 
with  a  serious  face  to  Henrie,  remarked — 

"  This  is  a  very  curious  story  of  yours,  and  if  I  did  not 
know  you  too  well,  I  should  suspect  that  you  were  quizzing. 
Did  you  hear  a  gun  after  you  parted  from  this  lank-sided 
fellow  you  describe  ?" 

"  I  thought  I  did  once,  but  the  sound  was  so  distant,  that 
I  was  too  uncertain  about  its  being  a  gun,  to  risk  getting 
lost  again  in  going  to  find  it." 

"  Was  it  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  by  sun  ?"  (that  is, 
before  sundown,)  interrupted  the  "  driver." 

"Yes." 

6  Well,  I  hearn  a  gun  about  that  time  on  your  side,  but 
thought  it  was  some  of  yourn." 

"It  may  be  that  this  madman,  or  whatever  he  is,  has 
danger  in  him,"  continued  the  Squire.  "I  can  explain 
about  the  winding  of  that  road  which  puzzled  you  so.  It 
is  a  trail  I  had  cut  to  a  number  of  board  trees  we  had  rived 
on  the  ground.  They  were  scattered  about  a  good  deal,  but 
none  of  them  far  from  any  given  place,  where  you  would 
strike  the  road,  so  that  you  were  no  great  distance  at  any 
time,  from  where  this  meeting  occurred.  We  must  turn  out 
and  look  for  this  creature,  boys." 

"I  expected  to  find  the  horse;  he — he  came  on  in  this 
direction,"  said  Henrie. 

"No,"  said  the  Squire,  "  Stoner's  house  is  beyond  here." 

Henrie  now  seated  himself  at  the  table ;  and  great  as  was 
the  uncertainty  attending  the  fate  of  Stoner,  these  men  were 
too  much  accustomed  to  the  vicissitudes  and  accidents  in  the 
life  of  the  frontier  hunter,  to  be  affected  by  it  for  more  than 
a  few  moments,  and  the  joke  and  the  laugh  very  soon  went 
round  as  carelessly  and  pleasantly  as  if  nothing  had  occurred 
at  all  unusual. 

In  the  midst  of  this  the  rapid  tramp  of  a  horse  at  full 


THE   SHOT  IN  THE  EYE.  31 

gallop  was  heard  approaching.  The  Squire  rose  hastily  and 
went  out,  while  the  room  grew  oppressively  still.  In  a  few 
moments  he  returned,  with  contracted  brows,  and  quite  pale 

"  S toner's  negro  has  been  sent  over  by  his  wife  to  let  ua 
know  that  his  horse  has  returned,  with  his  reins  on  his  neck 
and  blood  on  the  saddle.  He  has  been  shot,  gentlemen." 

We  all  rose  involuntarily  at  this,  and  stood  with  blank, 
white  faces,  looking  into  each  other's  eyes. 

"The  madman!"  said  one,  speaking  in  subdued  tones, 
breaking  the  oppressive  silence. 

"Henrie's  bearded  ghost,"  said  another. 

"Yes,"  exclaimed  several,  "devil  or  ghost,  that's  the  way 
it  has  happened." 

"I  tell  you  what,  Henrie,"  said  the  Squire,  "it  has 
occurred  to  me  ever  since  you  finished  your  story,  that  this 
singular  being  has  been  on  the  look-out  for  Stoner,  and 
while  you  rode  with  your  head  down,  thought  that  you  were 
he,  for  there  are  several  points  of  resemblance,  such  as  size, 
color  of  your  horses,  &c.,  but  that  in  the  long  look  he  took 
at  your  face  he  discovered  his  mistake;  and,  after  leaving 
you,  passed  over  to  the  left,  and  met  Stoner  returning,  and 
has  shot  him.  He  is  one  of  the  Regulators,  though,  and 
Hinch  is  a  very  blood-hound.  I  shall  send  for  him  to  be 
here  in  the  morning  with  the  boys,  and  they  will  trail  him 
up,  if  he  is  the  devil  in  earnest,  and  have  vengeance  before 
sundown  to-morrow." 

This  seemed  the  most  reasonable  solution  of  some  of  the 
inexplicable  features  of  the  affair ;  and,  as  it  was  too  dark 
to  think  of  accomplishing  anything  that  night,  we  had  to 
content  ourselves  with  a  sound  sleep  preparatory  for  action 
on  the  morrow. 

Soon  after  day-break,  we  were  awakened  by  the  sound  of 
loud  blustering  voices  about  the  house.  I  felt  sure  that  this 
must  be  Hinch's  party ;  and  on  looking  out  of  my  window, 
saw  them  dismounted  and  grouped  about  the  yard.  I 


32  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

recognized  the  voice  of  our  host  in  sharp,  decisive  altercation 
with  some  one,  whose  harsh,  overbearing  tones  convinced  me 
that  it  must  be  Hinch.  I  listened  anxiously,  and  heard  him 
swear  in  round. terms,  that  Henrie's  story  was  all  gammon, 
an  "old  woman's  tale,"  that  he  didn't  believe  a  word  of  it; 
but  if  Stoner  was  murdered,  Henrie  was  the  man  who  did  it. 
I  could  only  distinguish  that  the  Planter's  tone  was  angry 
and  decided,  when  they  moved  on  out  of  hearing.  How 
he  managed  to  quiet  him  I  cannot  conjecture,  (Henrie, 
fortunately,  heard  nothing  of  it,)  but  when  we  joined  them, 
Hinch  greeted  us  with  a  gruff  sort  of  civility.  He  was  a 
thick-set,  broad-shouldered,  ruffianly  looking  fellow ;  wearing 
the  palpable  marks  of  the  debauchee  in  his  bloated  person 
and  red  visage. 

We  were  soon  under  way.  A  ride  of  nearly  half  the  day 
through  the  scenes  of  yestejday's  adventures  elicited  nothing, 
and  we  were  all  getting  impatient,  when  fortunately  Henrie's 
search,  undertaken  at  my  earnest  suggestion,  was  successful 
in  recognizing  the  place  where  he  witnessed  the  curious 
apparition  of  the  evening  before.  On  close  examination, 
the  moccasined  tracks  were  discovered,  and  with  wonderful 
skill  the  Regulators  traced  them  for  several  miles,  till,  finally, 
in  an  open  glade,  among  the  thickets,  we  found  the  fragments 
of  a  man  who  had  been  torn  to  pieces  by  the  wolves,  numbers 
of  which,  with  buzzards  and  ravens,  were  hanging  about  the 
place.  The  bones  had  been  picked  so  clean,  that  it  would 
have  been  out  of  the  question  to  hope  to  identify  them,  but 
for  the  fact  that  a  gun  was  lying  near,  which  was  instantly 
known  to  be  Stoner's. 

I  observed  that  there  was  a  round  fracture,  like  a  bullet 
hole,  in  the  back  of  the  skull ;  but  it  was  too  unpleasant  an 
object  for  more  minute  examination.  We  gathered  up  the 
bones  to  take  them  home  to  his  family — but  before  we  left 
the  ground  a  discovery  was  made  which  startled  every  one. 
It  was  the  distinct  trail  of  a  shod  horse. 


THE   SHOT   IN   THE   EYE.  33 

Now,  there  was  hardly  a  horse  in  Shelby  County  that 
wore  shoes,  for  where  there  were  no  stones,  shoes  were  not 
necessary;  certainly  there  was  not  a  horse  in  our  company 
that  had  them  on.  This  must  be  the  horse  of  the  murderer ! 
Of  course,  Henrie  was  freed,  even  from  the  suspicions  of 
these  brutes.  They  believed  that  this  trail  could  be  easily 
followed,  and  felt  sure  that  now  they  should  soon  come  upon 
some  results.  They  set  off  with  great  confidence,  trailing 
the  shod  horse  till  nearly  night,  when  in  spite  of  all  their 
ingenuity,  they  lost  it;  and  though  they  camped  near  the 
place  till  morning,  and  tried  it  again,  could  not  find  it. 
They  were  compelled  to  give  up  in  despair,  and  scattered  for 
their  several  homes. 

The  very  next  day  after  their  breaking  up,  followed  the 
astounding  report  that  the  horse  of  a  second  one  of  their 
number  had  galloped  up  to  his  master's  door  with  an  empty 
saddle.  The  Regulators  assembled  again,  and  after  a  long 
search,  the  body  was  found,  or  the  fragments  of  it  rather, 
bare,  and  dismembered  by  the  wolves.  The  rumor  was  that, 
as  in  Stoner's  case,  the  man  had  been  shot  in  the  back  of 
the  head,  but  that  the  skull  had  been  greatly  disfigured. 

These  two  murders  occurring  within  three  days,  (for  the 
man  must  have  been  shot  on  the  day  the  Regulators 
disbanded,  and  while  on  his  way  home,)  created  immense 
sensation  throughout  the  country.  The  story  of  Henrie, 
which  afforded  the  only  possible  clue  to  the  perpetrator, 
and  the  singularity  of  all  the  incidents,  completely  aroused 
public  emotions.  What  could  be  the  motive,  or  who  was 
this  invisible  assassin,  (for  the  last  effort  at  trailing  him  had 
been  equally  unavailing,)  remained  an  utter  mystery. 

Hinch  and  his  band  fumed  and  raved  like  madmen.  They 
swept  the  country  in  all  directions,  arresting  and  lynching 
what  they  called  suspicious  persons,  which  meant  any  and 
every  one  who  had  rendered  nimself  in  the  slightest  degree 
obnoxious  to  them.  It  was  a  glorious  opportunity  for 


34  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

spreading  far  and  wide  a  wholesome  terror  of  their  power, 
and  of  wreaking  a  dastardly  hoarded  vengeance  in  many 
quarters  where  they  had  not  dared  before  to  strike  openly. 

Public  sentiments  justified  extreme  measures,  for  the  general 
safety  seemed  to  demand  that  the  perpetrator  of  these  secret 
murders  should  be  brought  to  light,  and  great  as  was  the 
license  under  which  he  acted,  Hinch  yet  felt  the  necessity 
of  being  backed  by  some  shadow  of  approval  growing  out 
of  the  case.  He,  and  the  miscreants  under  his  command, 
enjoyed  now  for  several  days,  unchecked  by  any  laws  of  God 
or  man,  a  perfect  saturnalia  of  riotous  violence.  Outrages 
too  disgustingly  hideous  in  their  details  to  bear  recital,  were 
committed  in  every  part  of  the  county.  Inoffensive  men 
were  caught  up  from  the  midst  of  their  families,  hung  to  the 
limbs  of  trees  in  their  own  yards  till  life  was  nearly  extinct, 
and  then  cut  down.  This  process  being  repeated  four  or  five 
times,  till  they  were  left  for  dead,  and  all  to  make  them 
confess  their  connection  with  the  murders !  I  will  not  further 
particularize. 

One  evening,  after  a  deed  of  this  kind,  which  had  afforded 
them  the  opportunity  of  displaying  such  unusual  resource  of 
ingenuity  in  torture,  that  they  were  glutted  to  exultation, 
they  were  returning  to  the  grocery  with  the  determination 
of  holding  a  drunken  revel  in  honor  of  the  event.  As  they 
rode  on,  with  shouts  of  laughter  and  curses,  one  of  the 
number,  named  Winter,  noticed  that  a  portion  of  his  horse's 
equipment  was  gone.  He  remembered  having  seen  it  in 
its  place  a  mile  or  so  back,  and  told  them  to  ride  on  and  he 
would  go  back  and  get  it,  and  rejoin  them  by  the  time  the 
frolic  had  commenced.  He  left  them,  but  never  came  back. 

They  went  on  to  the  store,  and  commencing  their  orgies, 
at  once  forgot,  or  did  not  notice  his  absence,  till  the  next 
day,  when  his  family,  alarmed  by  the  return  of  his  horse 
with  an  empty  saddle,  sent  to  inquire  about  him.  They  were 


THE  SHOT  IN  THE   EYE.  35 

instantly  sobered  by  this  announcement,  which  had  grown  to 
be  particularly  significant  of  late. 

They  immediately  mounted  their  horses  and  went  back  on 
their  trail.  They  were  not  long  kept  in  suspense.  The 
buzzards  and  wolves,  gathered  in  numbers  about  the  edge 
of  a  thicket  which  bordered  the  prairie  ahead  of  them,  soon 
designated  the  whereabouts  of  the  object  of  their  search. 
The  unclean  beasts  and  birds  scattered  as  they  galloped  up, 
and  there  lay  the  torn  and  bloody  fragments  of  their  comrade ! 

Hard  as  these  men  were,  they  shuddered,  and  the  cold 
drops  started  from  their  ghastly  and  bloated  faces.  It  was 
stunning.  The  third  of  their  number  consigned  to  this 
horrible  fate — eaten  up  by  the  wolves — all  within  a  week! 
Were  they  doomed?  What  shadowy,  inscrutable  foe  was 
this  who  always  struck  when  least  expected,  and  with  such 
fearful  certainty,  yet  left  no  trace  behind  ?  Was  it,  indeed, 
some  supernatural  agent  of  judgment,  visited  upon  their 
enormities?  Awed  and  panic-stricken  beyond  all  that  may 
be  conceived  of  guilty  fear,  without  any  examination  of  the 
neighborhood  or  of  the  bones,  they  wheeled  and  galloped  back, 
carrying  the  alarm  on  foaming  horses  in  every  direction. 

The  whole  country  shared  in  their  consternation.  I  never 
witnessed  such  a  tumult  of  wild  excitement.  It  was  the 
association  of  ghostly  attributes,  derived  from  Henrie's  story, 
with  the  probable  author  of  these  unaccountable  assassina 
tions,  which  so  much  roused  all  classes ;  and  this  effect  was 
not  a  little  heightened  when  the  report  got  out  that  this  man 
had  been  shot  in  the  same  way  as  the  others — through  the 
back  of  the  head.  Hundreds  of  persons  went  out  to  bring 
in  the  bones,  making,  as  they  said,  the  strictest  search  on 
every  side  for  traces  of  the  murderer,  without  being  able 
to  discover  the  slightest. 

These  things  struck  me  as  so  peculiar  and  difficult  to  be 
reasoned  upon,  that  I  felt  no  little  sympathy  with  the  popular 
sentiment,  which  assigned  to  them  something  of  a  supernatural 


86  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

origin.  But  Henrie  laughed  at  the  idea,  and  insisted  that 
it  must  be  a  maniac.  In  confirmation  of  this  opinion,  he 
related  many  instances,  given  by  half-romancing  medical 
writers,  of  the  remarkable  cunning  of  such  patients  in 
avoiding  detection  and  baffling  pursuit  in  the  accomplish 
ment  of  some  purpose  on  which  their  bewildered  energies 
had  strangely  been  concentrated.  This  was  the  opinion 
most  favored  among  the  more  intelligent  planters ;  but  the 
popular  rumors  assigned  him  the  most  egregious  and  fan 
tastic  features. 

The  Bearded  Ghost,  as  he  was  now  generally  named  from 
Henrie's  description,  had  been  seen  by  this,  that,  and  the 
other  person ;  now  striding  rapidly,  like  a  tall  thin  spectre, 
across  some  open  glade  between  two  thickets,  and  disappear 
ing  before  the  affrighted  observer  could  summon  courage  to 
address  it — now  standing  beneath  some  old  tree  by  the  road 
side,  still  as  its  shadow,  the  keen,  sepulchral  eyes  shining 
steadily  through  the  gloom,  but  melting  bodily  away  if  a 
word  was  spoken  ;  now  he  was  to  be  seen  mounted,  careering 
like  a  form  of  vapor  past  the  dark  trunks  of  the  forest  aisles, 
or  hurrying  swiftly  away  like  a  rain-cloud  before  the  wind 
across  the  wide  prairie,  always  hair-clad  and  gaunt,  with  a 
streaming  beard,  and  the  long  heavy  rifle  on  his  shoulder. 

I  soon  began  to  note  that  it  was  only  men  of  a  particular 
class  who  pretended  to  say  that  they  had  actually  seen  with 
their  own  eyes  these  wonderful  sights,  and  they  were  those 
Emigrant  Hunters  who  had  particularly  suffered  from  the 
persecutions  of  the  Regulators.  I  observed,  too,  that  they 
always  located  these  mysterious  appearances  in  the  close 
vicinity  of  some  one  of  the  houses  of  the  Regulators. 

It  at  once  struck  me  that  it  was  a  profoundly  subtle 
conspiracy  of  this  class — headed  by  some  man  of  remarkable 
personalities  and  skill,  with  the  deliberate  and  stern  purpose 
of  exterminating  the  Regulators,  or  driving  them  from  the 
country. 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE   EYE.  37 

It  seems  the  cunning  mind  of  Hinch  caught  at  the  same 
conclusion.  He  observed  the  peculiar  eagerness  of  these  men 
in  circulating  wild  reports,  and  exaggerating  as  highly  as 
possible  the  popular  conception  of  this  mysterious  being. 
His  savage  nature  seized  upon  it  with  a  thrill  of  unutterable 
exultation.  Now  he  could  make  open  war  upon  the  whole 
hateful  class,  rid  the  country  of  them  entirely,  and  reach 
this  fearful  enemy  through  his  coadjutors,  even  if  he  still 
managed  to  elude  vengeance  personally. 

He  denounced  them  with  great  clamor ;  and  as  the  people 
had  become  very  much  alarmed,  and  felt  universally  the 
necessity  of  sifting  this  dangerous  secret  to  the  bottom,  many 
of  them  volunteered  to  assist — and  for  a  week  four  or  five 
parties  were  scouring  in  every  direction.  Thus  doubly  rein 
forced,  Hinch  rushed  into  excesses,  in  comparison  to  which, 
all  heretofore  committed  were  mild.  Several  men  were 
horribly  mutilated  with  the  lash — others  compelled  to  take 
to  the  thickets,  through  which  they  were  hunted  like  wolves. 
At  last  Hinch  went  so  far  as  to  hang  one  poor  fellow  till  he 
was  dead. 

During  all  the  time  when  these  active  and  violent  demon 
strations  were  being  made,  and  the  whole  population  astir 
and  on  the  alert,  nothing  further  was  heard  of  the  Bearded 
Madman.  Not  even  faint  glimpses  of  him  were  obtained, 
and  Hinch  and  his  party,  while  returning  from  the  hanging 
mentioned  above,  were  congratulating  themselves  upon  the 
result  of  his  sagacity,  which,  as  they  boisterously  affirmed, 
had  been  no  less  than  the  routing  of  this  formidable  conspi 
racy  and  frightening  of  this  crazy  phantom  from  the  field. 
They  felt  so  sure  of  being  rid  of  him  now,  that  they  disbanded 
at  the  grocery  to  return  home. 

One  of  their  number  named  Rees,  almost  as  bad  and  brutal 
a  man  as  Hinch  himself,  was  going  home  alone  late  that 
evening.  As  he  rode  past  a  thicket  in  full  view  of  his  own 

door,  his  wife,  who  was  standing  in  it,  watching  his  approach, 
D 


33 

saw  him  suddenly  stop  his  horse  and  turn  his  head  with  a 
quick  movement  toward  the  thicket — in  the  next  moment 
blue  smoke  rose  up  from  it,  and  the  ring  of  a  rifle  shocked 
upon  her  ear.  She  saw  her  husband  pitch  forward  out  of 
the  saddle  upon  his  face,  and  thought  she  could  distinguish 
a  tall  figure  stalking  rapidly  on0  through  the  open  wood 
beyond,  with  a  rifle  upon  his  shoulder.  She  screamed  the 
alarm,  and  with  the  negroes  around  her,  ran  to  him.  They 
found  him  entirely  dead,  »hot  through  the  eye,  the  ball 
passing  out  at  the  back  of  the  head. 

A  perfect  blaze  of  universal  frenzy  burst  out  at  the  first 
news  of  this  fourth  murder;  but  when  the  curious  circum 
stances  noted  above  followed  after  it,  very  different  effects, 
and  great  changes  in  the  character  of  the  excitement,  were 
produced. 

When  Hinch  was  told  that  Rees  had  been  shot  through 
the  eye,  and  that  from  the  course  of  the  ball  in  the  other 
cases,  it  was  probable  all  the  others  had  been  shot  in  the 
same  way,  he  turned  livid  as  the  dead  of  yesterday — his 
knees  smote  together — and  with  a  horrid  blasphemy  he 
roared  out,  "Jack  Long!  Jack  Long!"  then  sinking  his 
voice  to  a  mutter — "  or  his  ghost  come  back  for  vengeance  !" 

Other  citizens,  not  connected  with  the  Regulators,  felt 
greatly  relieved,  now  that  this  impenetrable  affair  was  to  some 
degree  explained.  They  remembered  at  once  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  Jack's  noted  mark,  and  the  lynching  he 
had  received ;  though  many  still  persisted  in  the  belief  that 
it  was  Jack's  ghost,  for  they  said — "  How  could  it  be  anything 
else,  when  the  Regulators  left  him  for  dead  ?" 

But,  ghost  or  no  ghost,  it  was  universally  believed  that 
Jack  Long  and  his  rifle  were  identified  somehow  with  the 
actor  in  these  deeds.  The  disfiguration  of  the  skull,  in  the 
other  instances,  had  prevented  the  discovery  until  now ;  but 
everybody  breathed  more  freely  since  it  had  been  made.  It 
was  the  painfully  embarrassing  uncertainty  as  to  the  object 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE   EYE.  39 

of  these  assassinations — whether  any  individual  in  the  county 
might  not  be  the  next  victim,  and  the  propensity  for  murder 
indiscriminate — which  had  caused  such  deep  excitement,  and 
induced  the  people  to  aid  the  Regulators. 

But  now  that  this  uncertainty  was  fixed  upon  the  shoulders 
of  the  "bloody  band,"  and  their  own  freed  of  the  unpleasant 
burden,  they  were  greatly  disposed  to  enjoy  the  thing,  and, 
instead  of  assisting  them  any  further,  to  wish  Jack  success 
from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts.  They  felt  that  every  one 
of  these  wretches  deserved  to  die  a  thousand  times ;  at  all 
events,  whether  it  was  really  Jack,  his  ghost,  or  the  devil, 
it  was  a  single  issue  between  him  and  the  Regulators,  and 
no  one  felt  the  slightest  inclination  to  interfere. 

Those  who  professed  to  be  very  logical  in  solving  the 
question  as  to  what  he  really  was,  reasoned  that  it  must  be 
Jack  in  the  body,  beyond  a  doubt ;  but  that  it  was  equally 
certain  that  the  injuries  he  had  received  must  have  deranged 
his  mind,  and  that  it  was  from  the  fever  of  insanity  he 
derived  the  wonderful  skill  and  sternness  of  purpose  which 
he  displayed.  They  could  not  understand  how  a  nature  so 
easy  and  simple  as  Jack's  was  reported  to  have  been,  could 
be  roused  by  any  natural  energies  of  slumbering  passion  to 
such  terrific  deeds. 

Those  of  Jack's  own  class  who  had  escaped  the  exterminating 
violence  of  Hinch's  hate,  now  began  to  look  up  and  come 
forth  from  their  hiding-places.  They  laughed  at  all  these 
versions  of  opinion  about  Jack,  and  insinuated  that  he 
was  as  calm  as  a  May  morning,  and  that  his  head  was  as 
clear  as  a  bell.  One  testy  old  fellow  broke  loose  with 
something  more  than  insinuation,  to  a  crowd  of  men  at  the 
store,  who  were  discussing  the  matter. 

"  You're  all  a  parcel  of  fools,  to  talk  about  his  being  a 
ghost  or  a  crazy  man.  I  tell  you  he's  as  alive  as  a  snake's 
tongue  all  over,  and  a  leetle  venomouser.  As  for  bein' 
cracked  in  the  bore,  he  talks  it  out  jest  as  clean  as  his  long 


40  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

rifle  whar's  been  doin'  all  this  work.  I  let  you  know  Jack 
come  of  a  Tory-hatin',  Injun-fighten'  gineration,  and  that's  a 
blood  whar's  hard  to  cool  when  it  gits  riz.  Them  stripes 
has  sot  his  bristles  up,  and  it'll  take  some  blood  to  slick  'em 
down  agin." 

Hinch  heard  of  this  bold  talk,  and,  half  maddened  between 
rage  and  fear,  made  one  more  desperate  effort  to  get  the 
remainder  of  his  company  together.  They  were  now  afraid 
to  ride  singly ;  and  those  who  were  nearest  neighbors  collected 
the  night  before,  under  an  escort  of  their  negroes,  and  started 
for  the  rendezvous  at  the  grocery  next  morning,  in  groups 
of  two  and  three. 

Two  of  them,  named  Davis  and  Nixon,  were  riding  in 
together,  prying,  with  great  trepidation,  behind  every  tree, 
and  into  every  clump  and  thicket  they  came  across,  large 
enough  to  hide  a  man.  They  had  to  pass  a  small  stream 
which  ran  along  the  bottom  of  a  deep,  narrow  gulley,  the 
banks  of  which  were  fringed  along  the  tops  by  bushes  about 
six  feet  high.  This  was  within  half  a  mile  of  the  town ;  and 
as  they  had  seen  nothing  yet  to  rouse  their  suspicions>  they 
began  to  think  they  should  get  in  unmolested. 

"While  they  stopped  to  let  their  horses  drink  for  a  moment, 
and  were  leaning  over  their  necks,  the  animals  suddenly 
raised  their  heads,  snorting,  towards  the  top  of  the  bank. 
The  men  were  startled,  too,  and  looked  up.  The  dreaded 
enemy !  A  grisly  head  and  shoulders,  above  the  bushes,  and 
the  heavy  rifle  laid  along  their  tops,  bearing  full,  with  its 
dark  tube,  into  their  faces ! 

The  shudder  which  thrilled  through  the  frame  of  Nixon 
was  prolonged  into  the  death.  The  black  muzzle  gushed 
with  flame,  and  the  wretched  man  pitched  head-foremost  into 
the  stream.  Almost  immediately  the  frightened  companion 
heard  the  heavy  tramp  of  a  horse's  feet. 

Leaving  his  companion  in  the  water — one  crushed  eye-ball, 
and  the  other  glaring  glassily  at  the  sky — Davis  urged  his 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE   EYE.  41 

tiorse  up  against  the  ascent,  and  saw  from  the  top  of  the  bank, 
a  gaunt  outline  of  a  receding  figure,  just  losing  itself  through 
the  trees,  among  which  the  horse  was  speeding  with  wonderful 
rapidity. 

Davis  galloped  into  town  with  the  news  on  his  white  lips. 
The  Regulators  dispersed  in  inconceivable  dismay,  and  never 
got  together  again.  They  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses, 
and  for  two  weeks  not  one  of  them  dared  to  put  his  eyes 
outside  of  his  own  door. 

Jack  was  now  sometimes  seen  for  a  time,  publicly,  and 
was  regarded  with  great  curiosity  and  awe;  for,  with  all  he 
had  already  done,  it  was  known  that  his  mission  was  not 
yet  finished.  Everybody  watched  with  intense  interest  the 
progress  of  the  work,  especially  the  hunters,  who  began  now 
to  express  their  satisfaction  openly. 

At  last,  one  of  the  Regulators,  a  poor  scamp,  named 
White,  who  was  greatly  addicted  to  drink,  grew  impatient 
of  abstinence,  and  determined  to  risk  Jack's  rifle  rather  than 
do  without  liquor  any  longer.  He  set  off  in  a  covered  wagon 
for  the  grocery,  to  get  him  a  barrel,  lying  on  the  bottom  of 
the  wagon,  while  one  of  his  negroes  drove.  The  liquor  had 
been  obtained,  and  he  had  nearly  reached  the  entrance  of  a 
lane,  which  led  up  to  his  house,  on  his  return,  without  even 
lifting  his  head  so  far  as  to  expose  it,  when  the  wagon  run 
over  a  large  chunk  of  wood,  which  had  been  placed  across 
the  track,  just  where  it  ran  close  to  the  thicket. 

The  jolt  was  so  severe  as  to  roll  the  barrel  over  on  him. 
He  forgot  his  prudence,  and  put  his  head  out  of  the  cover 
to  swear  at  the  boy  for  his  carelessness.  The  negro  heard 
him  say,  "  There  he  is  at  last !"  cutting  short  the  exclamation 
with  a  torrent  of  oaths,  when  a  rifle-shot  whistled  from  the 
thicket.  His  master  fell  back  heavily  in  the  wagon,  and 
he  saw  a  tall,  "hairy  man,"  as  he  called  him,  stalking  off 
through  the  woods  with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder.  It  was 

observable  that  White,  also,  was  shot  through  the  eye. 
D2 


42  JACK  LONG;  OR, 

A  week  after  this,  another  of  them,  named  Garnet,  who 
had  kept  himself  a  close  prisoner,  fe>t  up  one  morning  at 
sunrise,  and  threw  open  the  door  of  his  house  to  let  in  the 
fresh  air.  Stepping  from  behind  a  large  tree  in  the  yard, 
stood  forth  the  Avenger,  with  that  long  rifle  levelled,  and 
that  cold  eye  fixed  upon  his  face,  waiting  for  a  recognition, 
as  he  did  in  every  case,  before  he  fired.  The  man  attempted 
to  step  back — too  late !  The  sun  was  in  his  eye,  but,  winged 
with  darkness  and  oblivion,  the  quick  messenger  burst 
through,  shattering  nerve  and  sense,  and  the  seventh  miserable 
victim  fell  heavily  across  his  own  threshold. 

But,  by  an  ingenious  elaboration  of  vengeance,  the  most 
terrible  torture  of  all  had  been  reserved  for  Hinch.  His 
imagination  became  his  hell.  He  died,  through  it,  a  thousand 
deaths.  He  had  been  passed  by,  to  see  his  comrades  one  by 
one  fall  from  around  him,  with  the  consciousness  that  the 
relentless  hate  and  marvelous  skill  which  struck  them  down, 
was  strung  with  ten-fold  sternness  against  himself.  One,  two, 
three,  four,  five,  six,  seven !  He  had  counted  them  all  many 
times.  They  had  all  gone  down  under  his  eye,  and  as  each 
one  fell,  came  the  question,  Shall  it  be  my  turn  next  ? 

From  the  certainty  that  it  would  come,  there  was  no 
escaping.  He  had  put  forth  all  the  malignant  ferocity  of 
cunning  and  brutal  passion  in  vain;  and  as  successively 
he  missed  his  minions  from  his  side,  the  dark  circle  grew 
narrower  and  narrower,  closing  in  terrible  gloom  about  him, 
till  he  stood  almost  singly  in  the  light,  the  only  target  for 
that  pitiless  aim.  Ay !  the  very  spot  where  the  ball  should 
strike  him  was  distinctly  marked  by  seven  several  instances  ! 
And  the  wretch  clasped  his  hands  before  his  eyes  and  shivered 
in  every  fibre,  as  he  felt  the  keen  shock  strike  in  blackness, 
through  tissues  so  sensitive,  that  even  a  hair  touching  them 
now  was  agony. 

Such  a  consciousness  of  coming  doom  was  too  much  to  bo 


THE   SHOT   IN  THE   EYE.  43 

endured.  Within  a  few  weeks,  he  shrank  like  a  rank  weed, 
from  above  which  the  sheltering  boughs  had  been  cleft,  and 
the  strong  sun  let  in  upon  its  bare  stems.  His  bloated  face 
became  wrinkled  and  pallid.  He  became  so  nervous,  that 
the  tap  of  a  crisp  leaf,  driven  by  the  winds  against  the 
window,  made  him  shudder  and  glare  his  eyes  around, 
expecting  that  dark  tube  to  grow  through  upon  him  from 
some  crevice  of  his  log  house. 

There  were  yet  two  other  men  besides  himself,  Davis  and 
"Williams ;  but  they  were  young  men,  much  the  youngest  of 
the  band.  They  sold  their  property,  and  one  night  were 
permitted  to  escape.  Hinch  caught  at  this  incident  with 
the  frantic  hope  of  despair.  They  succeeded  in  getting 
off,  and  why  not  he  ?  He  managed  very  secretly  to  procure 
one  of  the  best  horses  in  the  country,  and  set  forth  one  dark 
night  for  the  Red  River. 

The  news  that  he  was  off  created  a  strong  sensation 
through  the  county.  However  rude  and  primitive  may  be 
the  structure  of  any  society,  there  is  yet  beneath  its  surface 
a  certain  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things,  or,  in  other  words,  an 
intuitive  sentiment  of  justice  which  requires  to  be  satisfied ; 
and  there  was  a  feeling,  not  very  clearly  defined,  of  the  want 
of  this  satisfaction,  left  in  the  minds  of  men  through  this 
whole  region.  They  had  recognized  at  once  the  appropriate 
ness  and  savage  sublimity  of  the  retribution  which  had  been 
visited  upon  these  abominable  men ;  but  in  Hinch's  escape, 
the  consummation  was  altogether  wanting.  Vengeance  was 
only  half  complete. 

Hinch  reached  Red  River  after  a  desperate  ride.  He 
sprang  from  his  foaming  horse  at  the  top  of  the  bank,  and 
the  poor  animal  fell  lifeless  from  exhaustion  as  his  feet 
touched  the  ground.  He  did  not  pause  for  a  single  glance 
of  pity  at  the  noble  and  faithful  brute  which  had  borne  him 
so  far  and  so  gallantly ;  but  glancing  his  eye  around  with  a 


44  JACK   LONG. 

furtive  expression  of  a  thief  in  fear  of  pursuit,  he  descended 
the  sloping  bank  to  the  river's  edge,  and  threw  himself  upon 
the  grass,  to  wait  the  coming  of  a  boat. 

In  two  hours  he  heard  one  puffing  down  the  stream,  and 
saw  the  white  wreaths  of  steam  curling  up  behind  the  trees. 
How  his  heart  bounded !  Freedom,  hope,  and  life  ! — once 
more  sprung  through  his  shrivelled  veins  and  to  his  lips. 
He  signalled  the  vessel;  she  rounded  to  and  lowered  her 
yawl.  His  pulse  bounded  high,  and  he  gazed  with  absorbing 
eagerness  at  the  crew  as  they  pulled  lustily  towards  the 
shore. 

A  click — behind  him !  He  turned  with  a  shudder, 
and  there  he  was!  That  long  rifle  was  bearing  straight 
upon  him — those  cold  eyes  dwelt  steadily  on  his  for  a 
moment — and,  crash !  all  was  forever  blackness  to  Hinch 
the  Regulator  !  The  men  who  witnessed  this  singular  scene 
landed,  and  found  him  shot  through  the  eye!  and  saw  the 
murderer  galloping  swiftly  away  over  the  plain  stretching 
out  from  the  top  of  the  bank !  And  so  the  vengeance  was 
consummated,  and  the  stern  hunter  had  wiped  out  with  much 
blood  the  stain  of  stripes  on  his  free  limbs ;  and  could  now 
do,  what  I  was  told  he  had  never  done  since  the  night  of 
those  fatal  and  fatally  expiated  stripes,  look  his  wife  again 
in  the  eyes,  and  receive  her  form  to  rest  again  upon  his 
bosom. 

Powerful  elements  sometimes  slumber  in  the  breasts  of 
quiet  men ;  and  there  is  in  uncultured  breasts  a  wild  sense 
of  justice,  which,  if  it  often  carry  retribution  to  the  extremest 
limits  of  vengeance,  is  none  the  less  implanted  by  Him  who 
gave  the  passions  to  repose  within  us — 

"  Like  war's  swart  powder  in  a  castle's  vault 
Until  the  lin-stock  of  occasion  light  it." 


THE  BOEDER  CHASE: 

A  FIRST  DAY  WITH  THE  RANGERS. 


THE  BOEDER  CHASE : 

A  FIRST    DAT  WITH    THE    RANGERS. 


IT  is  not  to  be  expected  that  an  attempt  at  preserving  the 
chronological  order  of  events  is  to  constitute  a  very  deter 
mined  feature  of  this  series.  Indeed,  I  must  beg  to  assert 
the  autorial  privilege  of  dovetailing  my  material — whenever 
there  is  no  immediate  connection  between  the  parts — where 
it  will  best  suit  my  own  and  my  publisher's  convenience. 

The  reader  must  remember  that  he  now  accompanies  me 
back  to  the  extreme  frontier  of  Texas,  more  than  twelve 
years  since,  and  that  portion  of  it,  too,  nearest  Mexico  and 
the  Indians,  amid  a  population  of  whites,  Spaniards,  mon 
grels,  and  Peones,  and  living  in  a  state  of  perpetual  feud,  in 
which  the  knife  and  rifle  were  the  sole  arbitrators ;  in  short, 
•where  all  the  stable  elements  and  organization  of  society 
•which  afford  protection  in  the  decorous  observances  and  staid 
proprieties  of  civilized  life,  are  totally  wanting. 

Strong  men  and  unregulated  passions  exhibit  their  worst 
and  best  extremes,  in  this  atmosphere  of  license.  History 
scarcely  affords  an  analogy  to  the  fierceness  of  the  guerilla 
warfare  constantly  raging  between  the  three  races ;  yet  frag 
ments  of  them  all,  under  one  pretence  and  another,  amalga 
mated  in  the  society  of  San  Antonio. 

The  Mexicans,  who  were  greatly  in  the  majority,  were 


48  THE   BORDER  CHASE: 

most  of  them  refugees  from  the  other  side  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
for  political  or  criminal  offences. 

The  Indians  were  wretched  fragments  of  once  powerful 
tribes,  which  had  been  cut  to  pieces  in  their  contests  with 
the  other  two  parties,  and  now  cowered  between  them,  beg 
ging  protection  of  both,  and  patiently  biding  their  time  for 
secret  revenge  upon  either. 

The  whites  were  hardy  and  reckless  men  of  every  stamp, 
fco  whom  the  excitement  of  adventure — of  complicated  and 
incessant  peril — had  become  a  necessary  moral  aliment. 

This  morbid  passion  certainly  found  abundant  gratification 
here,  for  with  the  constant  liability  of  attack  from  without, 
they  were  for  ever  surrounded  within  the  town  by  natural 
foes,  the  most  faithless  and  malignant. 

When  it  is  remembered,  besides,  that  they  only  numbered 
fifteen  in  all,  and  attempted  to  domineer  with  a  high  hand 
over  as  many  hundreds  of  the  other  two  races  at  home,  and, 
in  addition,  defend  a  line  of  several  hundred  miles  of  frontier 
against  the  invasion  of  predatory  bands  from  beyond  the  Rio 
Grande,  or  from  the  mountains  of  the  Indian  country ;  and 
furthermore,  were  compelled  to  guard  against  and  baffle  the 
treachery  of  spies  lurking  round  their  very  doors,  it  may 
well  be  conjectured  they  had  their  hands  full. 

Of  course,  to  effect  all  this,  a  very  thorough  organization 
was  necessary,  and  a  troop  of  Rangers,  numbering  generally 
about  ten  men,  grew  out  of  this  necessity. 

It  is  the  period  of  my  first  connection  with  these  gay  and 
daring  fellows  at  which  I  design  to  open  my  note-book  of 
daily  incidents. 

A  few  words,  in  general  explanation  of  the  circumstances 
of  my  arrival  in  San  Antonio : — 

Determined  to  make  myself  familiar  with  all  the  phases 
of  life  in  this  curious  country,  I  had  traversed  the  greater 
part  of  it  alone.  But  at  that  time  (the  latter  part  of  Feb 
ruary,  1839,)  the  journey  to  San  Antonio  was  too  perilous 


A   FIRST   DAY   WITH   THE   RANGERS.  49 

to  be  undertaken  singly ;  so  happening  to  meet  with  an  old 
acquaintance  from  my  native  state,  who  was,  like  myself, 
anxious  to  make  the  trip,  I  joined  him,  and  we  undertook  it 
together. 

He  was  a  Brazos  planter,  and  owned,  of  course,  a  number 
of  slaves.  One  of  these,  in  the  effort  to  make  his  escape  to 
Mexico,  had  succeeded  in  reaching  the  neighbourhood  of  San 
Antonio,  where  he  was  arrested  by  the  vigilant  Rangers, 
thrown  into  chains,  and  his  owner  advertised  of  the  fact  by 
a  special  messenger.  The  particular  object  of  my  friend 
Taney  was  to  recover  this  boy. 

Escaping  to  Mexico  is  a  favourite  scheme  of  the  slaves  of 
Texas,  and  numbers  of  them  annually  attempt,  and  some  few 
effect  it.  They  have  the  impression  that  their  condition  is 
very  greatly  bettered  by  the  change.  Indeed,  the  more 
spirited  of  them  acquire,  by  contact  with  the  whites,  habits 
of  thought  and  action  which  elevate  them  to  decided  supe 
riority  over  the  average  Mexican  population ;  and  if  they 
succeed  in  reaching  that  country,  they  are  generally  more 
than  a  match  for  the  imbecile  natives. 

Several  notorious  instances  of  these  runaways  acquiring  in 
a  short  time,  position  and  rank,  added  to  the  fact  that  the 
Mexican  population  of  Texas  had  always  exhibited  a  warm 
sympathy  for  them,  and  never  failed  to  assist  them  in  getting 
off  by  every  means  in  their  power,  contributed  of  late  to 
greatly  increase  the  frequency  of  these  attempts,  and,  in  the 
same  ratio,  the  vigilance  of  the  planters  and  Rangers  to 
counteract  them.  The  San  Antonio  route  was  the  only 
practicable  one  across  the  desert  plains  to  the  Rio  Grande, 
BO  that  such  refugees  were  all  compelled  to  pass  through  it. 

In  a  word,  Bahai  is  the  gate  of  that  frontier. 

After  a  journey  full  of  fatigue  and  danger,  we  were  ap 
proaching  it  on  the  night  of  the  25th  :  news  that  the  Indians 
were  down  and  ravaging  the  country,  had  compelled  us  to 
E  4 


50  THE   BORDER   CHASE: 

travel  after  dark,  with  a  view  of  lessening  the  probabilities 
of  a  meeting  with  them. 

It  was  a  very  clear  night,  brilliant  as  only  Texan  moon 
light  can  be,  and  I  felt  strongly  impressed  by  the  majestic 
breadth  of  the  plain  upon  which  we  had  lately  emerged  from 
the  broken  and  wooded  ground,  and  which  lay  sheeted  in 
the  vast  circumference  of  a  becalmed  and  silvery  ocean 
around  us. 

These  primeval  solitudes — with  all  the  grandeur  on,  and 
solemn  silence  that  they  wore  when  first  God  said,  "Let 
there  be  Light !"  and  that  shining  negation  burst  upon  Old 
Chaos,  revealing  all  forms  in  its  annihilation — are  wonder 
fully  imposing. 

With  the  high  arch  above  me,  its  glittering  fretwork  niched 
with  "golden  candlesticks,"  and  resting  upon  this  broad  level 
base,  which  reflected  their  bold  radiance  in  misty  softness,  I 
felt  as  if  we  crept  with  our  slow  pace  along  the  plumb-line 
of  the  universe,  under  the  full  gaze  of  the  infinite  host  of 
heaven,  with  their  cold  keen  eyes  searchingly  upon  us. 

The  awe  one  feels  upon  these  sky-bound  prairies  is  posi 
tively  oppressive.  If  you  do  not  realize  eternity  and  God's 
being  and  omnipresence  in  such  a  scene,  then  you  were  born 
without  a  soul,  or  else  it  has  died  within  you. 

After  a  ride  of  several  hours,  during  which  neither  of  us 
spoke,  we  observed  the  monotonous  profile  of  the  horizon 
before  us  broken  by  several  objects.  As  we  approached, 
they  gradually  crept  up  from  the  darkness,  and  we  could 
distinguish  the  square  outline  of  Mexican  houses — very  soon 
we  were  among  them — clustered  irregularly  along  the  bank 
of  the  San  Antonio  River,  the  gleam  and  ripple  of  which  now 
struck  upon  our  senses.  These  houses  were  square  stone 
pens,  thatched  with  bulrushes,  and,  as  we  passed  them,  looked 
desolate  and  dark  enough,  for  it  was  very  late. 

To  some  distance,  above  and  below  the  ford,  they  were 
dotted  along  without  any  appearance  of  regularity,  while  on 


A  FIRST   DAY  WITH   THE   RANGERS.  51 

the  opposite  side,  the  confusion  of  black  angular  masses  de 
fined  against  the  sky,  indicated  the  location  of  the  main 
town. 

The  river,  which  leaps  forth  with  a  sudden  birth,  from  a 
cave  a  few  miles  above,  rushes  roaring  clamorously  over  the 
wide  rocky  bed  which  constitutes  the  ford. 

It  seemed,  as  it  really  is,  a  hazardous  experiment  to  cross 
it  during  the  night;  but,  however,  our  venturesome  impa 
tience  was  more  fortunate  than  skilful  in  effecting  a  passage. 
The  bank  is  by  no  means  steep,  and  we  found  ourselves,  in  a 
few  paces  from  the  water,  amidst  the  low  stone  and  thatched 
houses,  in  a  narrow  street  of  the  suburbs :  this,  after  a  while, 
led  us  into  a  broader  one,  in  which  the  houses  on  either  side 
grew  gradually  from  mere  huts  to  the  dignity  of  one,  two, 
and  three  stories  of  massive  stone. 

One  of  these,  standing  somewhat  singular  and  taller  than 
the  rest,  my  friend  paused  before  and  announced  that,  ac 
cording  to  the  topographical  description  of  our  whereabouts, 
with  which  he  had  been  furnished,  this  must  be  the  house 
of  the  merchant  who  had  cashed  the  reward  offered  for  the 
apprehension  of  the  boy,  and  held  him  in  charge.  There 
was  a  light  glimmering  through  the  door-chinks  and  key 
hole  ;  we  dismounted,  and  thumped  lustily  and  long  for  ad 
mittance  ;  and  at  last  a  man  in  his  shirt-sleeves  thrust  his 
head  cautiously  through  the  half-open  door,  and  demanded 
who  we  were. 

The  night  was  very  cold,  and  Taney  had  some  difficulty, 
from  the  chattering  of  his  teeth,  in  making  himself  under 
stood.  He  succeeded  finally  in  satisfying  the  cautious  mer 
chant,  and  the  door  was  thrown  open. 

When  our  eyes  had  recovered  from  the  broad  dazzle  of  a 
large  fire,  we  saw  that  there  were  a  number  of  men  sleeping 
on  cots  and  buffalo-robes,  along  the  whole  length  of  an  ex 
tended  and  narrow  room ;  near  the  head  of  each  man  lay  a 
Mexican  saddle,  gleaming  with  silver  mounting,  and  a  gaudy- 


52  THE   BORDER   CHASE: 

coloured  "  serape,"  or  Mexican  blanket,  thrown  either  ovef 
it  or  the  person  of  the  sleeper. 

But  the  object  which  at  once  arrested  my  gaze  was  the 
figure  of  the  negro  boy,  curled  up  upon  the  hearth,  and,  as 
he  rose  to  a  sitting  posture  from  his  sleep,  the  clank  and 
glitter  of  heavy  manacles  upon  his  arms  and  legs  struck  me 
most  unpleasantly. 

He  was  a  young,  stout,  athletic-looking  fellow,  and  after 
rubbing  his  eyes  in  astonishment,  received  the  quiet  and 
scornful  greeting  of  his  master,  with  that  stolid,  heavy  look 
of  insensibility,  which  always  has  enraged  and  made  me,  for 
the  moment,  forget  any  sympathy  for  negroes. 

In  a  moment  afterward,  I  was  listening  and  inquiring  of 
the  merchant,  with  full  as  much  interest  as  Taney  exhibited, 
concerning  all  the  details  of  his  capture,  and  the  present 
circumstances  which  insured  his  safe  durance  till  my  friend 
should  call  for  him  in  the  morning. 

The  arrangements  for  his  close  keeping  seemed,  at  a 
glance,  so  perfectly  secure,  that  there  was  no  probability  of 
his  escaping.  His  chains  were  of  the  heaviest  cast,  and  he 
had  worn  them  for  months,  under  the  eye  of  the  merchant ; 
he  was  sleeping  in  the  same  room  with  half  a  dozen  men — 
the  room  lit  by  the  blaze  of  a  large  fire — its  two  doors 
massive  and  well  secured  by  bolt  and  bar. 

What  occasion  was  there  to  doubt  of  his  safe  keeping? 
We  could  see  no  possibility  of  any,  and,  inquiring  for  the 
locality  of  the  American  tavern,  which  we  had  understood 
was  kept  in  the  town,  we  took  leave. 

This  street  led  us  into  a  large  square.  Precisely  in  its 
centre  towered  a  massive  cathedral,  in  the  usual  century- 
defying  style  of  Jesuit  architecture  all  over  the  world.  Lights 
in  the  windows  of  a  long,  low,  stone  building,  which  faced 
the  square,  designated  the  place  of  which  we  were  in  search. 

We  dismounted,  and  entered  a  well-lighted  apartment, 
furnished  very  much  as  American  bar-rooms  usually  are,  and. 


A   FIRST  DAY  WITH   THE   RANGERS.  53 

as  it  was,  fully  tenanted.  My  first  impression  was  that 
we  bad  entered  among  a  crowd  of  Mexicans,  but  I  quickly 
saw  that  their  complexions  were  not  at  all  consistent  with 
their  costumes. 

Eight  or  ten  very  young-looking  persons,  evidently  Ameri 
cans  or  Europeans,  were  promenading  the  room,  back  and 
forth,  puffing  away,  every  man  of  them,  earnestly  at  Mexican 
"  cigarittas,"  and  all  dressed  in  a  costume  singularly  com 
posite  in  Mexican  and  American  tastes.  Most  of  them  wore 
the  "sombrero,"  or  Mexican  hat,  and  the  many-hued  "se- 
rape,"  thrown  carelessly  over  the  characteristic  suit  of  "foxed" 
cloth,  or  of  buckskin  entire. 

The  sombrero  is  a  high,  sugar-loaf  crowned  and  broad- 
brimmed  hat,  generally  decorated  with  a  wide  band  of  parti 
coloured  beads,  while  the  scrape  is  a  thick  blanket,  curiously 
interwoven  with  angular  zigzag  figures,  having  a  hole  in  the 
centre,  through  which  the  head  is  thrust.  This,  falling  down 
to  the  waist,  over  the  ordinary  American  dress,  and  exhi 
biting  the  gleam  of  pistols  and  knife  in  the  belt  underneath, 
made  up  a  very  picturesque  costume. 

Our  arrival  was  noticed  with  nothing  like  the  ill-bred  and 
hard-staring  manner  common  in  American  villages  ;  but  we 
were  greeted  with  a  manly  and  straight-forward  courtesy, 
that  at  once  placed  us  at  ease  with  ourselves  and  with  them. 

Indeed,  I  was  at  once  irresistibly  impressed  by  the  perfect 
bon-homme,  yet  man-of-the-world  expression,  which  charac 
terized  the  bearing  of  these  persons.  There  was  nothing  of 
familiarity,  but  rather  a  degree  of  touch-me-not-ism,  which 
it  would  be  difficult  to  give  an  idea  of  in  words,  tempering 
the  almost  boyish  and  boisterous  frankness  with  which  we 
were  questioned  and  bantered  upon  the  incidents  of  our 
journey,  precisely  as  though  we  had  been  old  familiar  friends 
since  time  began. 

This  pleasant  cordiality  I  have  noticed  is  very  apt  to  be  a 

trait  of  our  frontiersmen  of  any  grade,  but  it  was  especially 
£2 


54  THE   BORDER   CHASE: 

agreeable  coming  from  these  men,  with  a  certain  touch  of 
polish  and  good  taste  in  it,  which  reminded  one  strongly  of 
the  wild  blades  and  eccentrics  of  college  life.  Indeed,  if  by 
any  magic  one  could  have  dropped  suddenly  into  the  circle 
without  the  attendant  and  explanatory  circumstances,  it  would 
have  been  the  first  impression  that  it  was  a  party  of  merry 
making  collegiates. 

These  are  the  sort  of  men  who  are  never  taken  by  surprise 
at  any  thing.  Though  young,  their  experience  embraces 
the  whole  round  of  the  passions.  They  are  prepared  for  all 
that  can  come.  Their  personal  familiarity  with  "  imminent 
perils"  of  every  stamp,  and  with  all  the  exigencies  and  ex 
cesses  to  which  the  life  of  humanity  is  liable,  gives  to  their 
port,  and  regard  of  all  circumstances  alike,  an  air  of  coolness 
and  indifference,  as  if — however  startling  they  might  be — 
they  came  as  matters  of  course,  which  were  to  be  expected, 
and  certainly  not  wondered  at. 

This  same  familiarity  with  danger  gives  to  their  apprecia 
tion  of  the  social,  or  rather  the  convivial  virtues,  a  high 
tone — though  the  habit  of  self-reliance,  engendered  in  scenes 
of  solitary  daring,  infuses  a  tinge  of  individual  reserve  which 
characterizes  their  open  good-fellowship. 

I  was  particularly  struck  with  the  youthful  appearance  of 
the  whole  party;  my  impression  on  glancing  around  was, 
that  there  was  not  a  man  in  the  room  over  twenty-two. 

There  was  not  a  single  commonplace  physiognomy  among 
them  all — all  was  decidedly  expressive,  one  way  or  another ; 
but  I  was  greatly  amused  afterwards,  in  recollecting  how  in 
congruous  my  first  hasty  conceptions  were,  with  what  I  after 
wards  ascertained  to  be  the  character  of  each ;  my  faith  in 
my  own  sagacity  was  no  little  diminished ! 

The  personage  who  earliest  arrested  my  notice  was  the 
most  boyish  looking  of  them  all.  His  figure,  though  scarce 
the  average  height,  was  stout,  and  moulded  with  remarkable 
symmetry — his  hands  and  feet  were  womanishly  delicite, 


A   FIRST   DAY   WITH   THE    RANGERS.  56 

•while  his  Grecian  features  were  almost  severely  beautiful  in 
their  classic  chiseling.  The  rich  brunette  complexion  and 
sharp  black  eye,  indicative  of  Italian  blood,  would  have 
made  the  fortune  of  a  city  belle.  The  softness  of  his  voice, 
and  his  caressing  manner,  increased  the  attraction  of  his  ap 
pearance  ;  and,  but  for  a  certain  cold  flash  from  those  bril 
liant  eyes,  I  should  have  been  entirely  in  love  with  him  at 
once. 

I  thought  him  some  wild  and  petted  scapegrace  from  a 
Southern  family,  who  had  run  away  from  his  friends,  and 
fallen  upon  such  a  locality  and  such  society  by  accident. 
Yet,  as  I  afterwards  learned,  this  man,  of  all  others  in  the 
room,  was  reputed  most  dangerous.  The  quick,  unscrupulous 
vindictiveness  of  his  passions  had  become  proverbial,  and  the 
sobriquet  of  "the  Bravo"  had  been  universally  applied  to 
him. 

The  man  on  whom  he  seemed  to  lavish  most  attention,  and 
who,  indeed,  appeared  to  be  regarded  with  particular  defer 
ence  by  all,  was  a  slight,  raw-boned  figure,  with  a  lean  but 
bold  Roman  face,  and  an  expression  of  modest  simplicity 
that  struck  me  as  peculiar ;  there  was  something  absolutely 
shrinking  and  hoydenish  in  his  bearing,  and  I  remember 
feeling  some  surprise  that  so  unsophisticated,  easy,  good- 
natured  looking  a  personage  should  be  treated  with  so  much 
respect  by  men  necessarily  of  so  hardy  cast  as  those  around. 

Yet  this  individual  was  the  celebrated  Captain,  now  Colonel 
Hays,  the  leader  and  foremost  spirit  of  the  Rangers,  a  mere 
youth ;  though  more  distinguished  for  tempered  skill  and  gal 
lantry  in  the  Mexican  and  Indian  wars,  than  any  man  who 
had  yet  figured  in  the  history  of  that  frontier. 

There  was  still  another  person  who  specially  deceived  my 
preconceptions  of  his  character.  This  was  a  tall,  heavy- 
boned,  heavy-featured,  gawky  Irishman,  who  was  lolling 
about  with  rather  an  excessive  expression  of  abandon  and 
jollity  I  took  him  at  first  for  a  decided  "  flat,"  but  I  soon 


56  THE   BORDER   CHASE: 

observed  a  deep  rich  current  of  the  quaintest  and  most  spicy 
humour  conceivable,  under  the  surface  of  this  careless  man 
nerism. 

Indeed,  young  Fitzgerald,  the  brother  of  the  unfortunate 
Santa  Fe  prisoner,  was  the  finest  impersonation  of  the  best 
and  most  racy  traits  of  Irish  wit  and  Irish  gallantry  that  I 
had  yet  met  with. 

The  remainder  of  the  party  looked  like  men  of  severe,  or 
at  least  of  decided  tempers. 

But  such  as  they  were,  these  were  the  Rangers,  and  these 
were  my  first  impressions  of  them. 

I  announced  my  wish  to  Captain  Hays  to  become  one  of 
them,  and  share  the  rough  and  tumble  as  well  as  their  jolli 
ties  with  them — the  risks  as  well  as  pleasures.  I  was  wel 
comed  with  frank  cordiality  into  the  ranks,  and  called  for  a 
number  of  bottles  of  "  noyau"  at  the  bar,  to  commemorate 
and  seal  our  fellowship.  These  were  drunk  merrily  enough, 
Fitzgerald  giving  a  bantering  toast  before  we  separated : — 

"  Here's  to  old  Kentuck  !  May  he  get  the  green  out  of 
his  eyes,  and  eat  his  salad  as  soon  as  possible,  in  preparation 
for  the  close  shooting  and  tough  chawing  we,  the  free 
Brotherhood  of  Rangers,  indulge  in!" 

The  last  phrase  I  did  not  fully  understand  until  my  after 
experience  in  dried  or  "jerked  beef"  enlightened  me. 

It  was  past  two  o'clock  before  we  parted  for  bed,  and  with 
a  brain  dizzied  by  the  excitements  of  the  day,  the  novelty 
and  originality  of  the  scenes  and  characters  I  had  fallen 
upon,  it  was  some  time  before  I  got  to  sleep.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  the  sleep  had  lasted  only  a  few  minutes,  when  a 
loud  thumping  at  the  door  of  the  hostelry  awakened  me. 

It  was  a  messenger  from  the  merchant,  post  haste,  an 
nouncing  to  Taney  that  his  boy  had  escaped.  We  rose 
hastily,  and  found  that  day  was  just  breaking. 

The  messenger  said  the  negro  had  got  off  clear,  and  had 
taken  with  him  a  quantity  of  valuable  property;  that  his 


A   FIRST   DAY   WITH   THE   RANGERS.  57 

chains  had  been  left  upon  the  hearth,  the  back  door  open, 
and  a  splendid  horse — the  very  finest  in  the  country — gone  "i 
along  with  a  fine  silver-mounted  saddle ;  that  the  picket 
fence  of  the  back  yard,  which  was  deep  set  with  very  heavy 
posts,  had  been  torn  up  to  afford  him  passage ;  that,  in  ad 
dition  to  the  horse  and  saddle,  he  had  appropriated  several 
costly  "  scrapes,"  a  brace  of  pistols,  and  a  fine  rifle,  and  that 
the  direction  of  his  trail,  so  far  as  they  had  taken  time  to 
trace  it,  rendered  it  most  evident  that  he  had  made  for  the 
Rio  Grande. 

This  was  stirring  news,  and  created  for  a  while  no  little 
confusion,  as  the  Rangers  were  all  forthwith  astir.  Taney 
and  myself  hurried  to  the  house  of  the  merchant,  to  ascertain 
for  ourselves  if  these  statements  could  possibly  be  true. 

Whatever  had  been  the  causeless  and  petulent  prejudices 
I  had  indulged  myself  in  towards  this  boy,  on  the  night  be 
fore,  for  his  stupid  looks,  they  gave  way  now  to  almost  the 
opposite  extreme  of  admiration  for  the  cunning  and  resolute 
skill  he  had  displayed  in  the  manner  of  effecting  his  escape. 

It  appeared  that  he  must  have  had  his  chains  filed  some 
time  before,  in  accomplishing  which  we  ascertained  that  he 
had  been  assisted  by  a  Mexican  blacksmith,  whose  shop  bor 
dered  upon  the  back  yard,  the  liberty  of  which  had  been 
granted  him. 

But  the  prudent  daring  of  his  measures  had  been  so  con 
summate  as  to  elicit  expressions  of  astonishment  from  every 
body.  He  had  managed  to  conceal  the  fact  of  his  chains 
being  filed  from  the  vigilance  of  the  merchant,  and  had  pa 
tiently  bided  his  time,  till  the  arrival  of  his  master,  who 
would  take  him  in  charge  the  next  morning,  rendered  it 
necessary  that  decisive  steps  should  be  taken  at  once. 

He  had  then — after  we  left  him,  and  a  sufficient  time 
had  elapsed  for  the  inmates  of  the  room  to  get  to  sleep 
again — quietly  divested  his  limbs  of  the  chains,  which  he  left 
upon  the  hearth ;  and  noiselessly  possessing  himself  of  the 


58  THE   BORDER   CHASE: 

holsters,  rifle,  and  saddle,  (which  last  article  was  plated  with 
two  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  silver,)  belonging  to  one  of  the 
sleepers,  he  unfastened  the  back  door  and  passed  out  to  the 
stable. 

This  stable  was  inside  the  yard,  and  enclosed  by  a  high 
picket  fence.  By  a  wonderful  exertion  of  strength,  he  had 
torn  up  a  number  of  the  posts,  sufficient  to  afford  a  passage 
for  himself  and  the  splendid  horse  he  had  selected  from 
among  a  number  of  others,  and  thus  reached  the  street  by  a 
back  lane. 

In  addition,  he  had  provided  himself  with  a  valise  of  cloth 
ing  and  provisions  for  several  days.  All  of  these  items  be 
longed  to  the  same  person — a  rich  trader  who  had  lately  ar 
rived  from  the  Rio  Grande.  The  rage  and  astonishment  of  this 
individual,  on  waking  in  the  morning  and  finding  himself  mi 
nus  to  such  an  extent,  may  be  better  conceived  than  told. 

After  ascertaining  these  details  for  ourselves,  by  personal 
observation,  in  company  with  the  restless  and  excited  mer 
chant  we  returned  to  the  front  door,  where,  greatly  to  my 
astonishment,  we  found  Hays  and  several  of  his  Rangers  al 
ready  collected — two  of  them  mounted  on  swift  horses,  and 
armed  for  the  pursuit,  waiting  for  us  in  the  street.  We  were 
too  inexperienced  of  course  to  have  thought,  in  our  hurry 
and  confusion,  of  this  prompt  preparation,  and  as  there  was 
no  time  to  be  lost,  could  not  accompany  them  at  once.  One 
of  these  mounted  men,  I  observed,  was  the  "Bravo;"  the 
other  was  a  swarthy  complexioned,  handsome-looking  young 
fellow,  named  Littell.  He  was  mounted  on  the  horse  of 
Hays,  the  most  fleet  and  best-trained  animal  in  the  company. 
All  the  speed  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  was  obviously 
necessary  for  overtaking  the  boy,  as  well  mounted  as  he  was, 
and  with  such  a  start  as  he  had  gained.  The  horse  of  the 
"  Bravo"  was  also  a  very  game  animal. 

"Fifty  dollars  for  the  boy!"  shouted  Taney  to  them,  and 
just  as  they  were  bending  forward  to  apply  the  "quirt"  and 


A   FIRST   DAY   WITH   THE   RANGERS.  59 

spur,  the  hoarse  voice  of  the  enraged  trader  rang  out  from 
over  our  shoulders — 

"And  fifty  dollars  more  for  the  horse  and  saddle !" 

They  were  off  at  full  speed,  clattering  over  the  stone  pave 
ment,  while  sparks  flew  from  the  iron  shoes  of  their  receding 
animals.  It  would  be  a  severe  chase,  every  one  was  aware, 
and  the  possibility  of  recapturing  the  boy  seemed  most  pro 
blematical.  I  could  not  help  hoping  in  my  own  heart,  that 
what  seemed  so  unlikely,  might  not  by  any  accident  be 
brought  about ;  for,  apart  from  all  abstractions,  the  coolness 
and  daring  the  fellow  exhibited  showed  him  worthy  to  be  a 
freeman. 

The  day  opened  bright  and  pleasantly.  About  ten  o'clock 
that  morning  we  were  all  collected,  grouped  in  the  sunshine, 
in  front  of  "  Johnson's,"  on  the  square,  when  pistol-shooting 
became  the  accidental  topic,  growing  out  of  the  inspection 
of  my  beautiful  rifle-barrels.  Hays  was  said  to  be  a  wonder 
ful  shot,  and  gave  us  a  proof  that  the  report  did  justice  to 
his  skill. 

He  held  one  of  my  pistols  in  his  hand,  when  he  observed  a 
chicken-cock  some  thirty  paces  off  in  the  square,  which  was 
just  straightening  its  neck  to  crow. 

"Boys,  I'll  cut  that  saucy  fellow  short,"  he  observed,  as 
he  levelled  and  fired  quickly  at  it,  and,  sure  enough,  the  half- 
announced  clarion  note  of  chanticleer  was  lost  in  the  explo 
sion,  and  it  fluttered  over  dead  with  a  ball  through  its  head. 
Our  exclamations  of  astonishment  and  admiration  were  inter 
rupted  by  the  voice  of  one  of  the  party : 

"  Hays !  yonder  come  your  horse  and  Littell  full-tilt  up 
the  street !" 

"Yes,"  observed  another,  "he  rides  very  stiff.  He  looks 
like  a  dead  man  !" 

At  the  same  moment  the  panting  animal  dashed  up  among 
us,  and  stopped  by  the  side  of  his  masters 


60  THE   BORDER   CHASE: 

Never  in  my  life  did  I  look  upon  a  more  terrible  object 
than  his  rider ! 

With  both  hands  clasped  convulsively  around  the  high 
pummel  of  the  Mexican  saddle,  his  eyes  closed,  his  face  ashy 
and  rigid,  a  clotted  tide  of  gore  issuing  from  his  side  and 
streaming  down  the  yellow  skirt  of  his  buckskin  hunting- 
shirt,  his  reins  on  the  neck  of  the  horse,  his  gun  missing,  his 
whole  figure  stiffened  and  erect — he  looked,  indeed,  a  spectre 
horseman  !  a  riding  corpse  ! 

"  He's  warm  yet,"  said  Hays,  as  he  placed  his  hand  upon 
his  chalky  fingers  ;  "  let's  take  him  down.  He  may  not  be 
dead  for  all." 

We  sprang  to  his  assistance,  and  the  body  at  the  first  ef 
fort  fell  over  into  our  arms.  I  shuddered  at  the  cold  earthy 
weight,  and  that  horrid  smell  of  fresh  and  bloody  death 
which,  once  experienced,  can  never  be  forgotten.  We  bore 
him  into  the  bar-room  and  laid  him  upon  a  bench. 

I  observed,  on  examination,  that  his  pulse  was  still  beating 
faintly,  and  on  the  application  of  strong  restoratives,  it  be 
gan,  after  a  short  interval  of  suspense,  to  rise. 

We  now  proceeded  to  strip  him,  and  on  doing  so,  ascer 
tained  that  he  had  received  a  large  musket-ball  just  above 
the  lower  rib ;  and  on  tracing  the  blue  line  its  track  had  left 
half  round  the  body  to  the  opposite  side,  .we  were  induced  to 
hope  that  it  had  glanced  under  the  flesh  and  not  penetrated 
the  chest.  Gradually  his  pulse  continued  to  heighten,  until 
we  saw  the  colour  returning  to  his  pallid  face. 

"  Boys,  saddle  up !  The  Bravo  is  in  danger !  This  is 
the  work  of  the  cursed  Mexicans,  you  know,"  exclaimed 
Hays,  as  soon  as  our  suspense  had  been  relieved  by  the  ap 
pearance  of  these  favourable  symptoms. 

"  Yes,  Mexicans,  of  course !"  muttered  Fitzgerald.  "  That's 
a  Mexican  ball,  or  it  wouldn't  have  been  so  bunglingly  placed. 
We'll  show  'em  the  clean  thing,  boys,  with  our  rifles !" 

We  left  Littell  in  charge  of  the  tavern-keeper.     We  were 


A  FIRST   DAY  WITH   THE   RANGERS.  61 

mounted  in  a  very  short  time,  and  collected  before  the  door 
of  the  tavern,  ready  to  start,  when  Johnson  came  out  bare 
headed  to  tell  us  that  the  wounded  man  had  so  far  recovered 
as  to  be  able  to  speak  a  few  words.  His  utterance  was  yet 
so  feeble,  that  he  had  only  been  able  to  hear  so  much  of 
what  he  said  as  conveyed  the  idea  that  the  Bravo  had  been 
in  advance  of  him  when  he  received  the  ball  from  a  thicket. 

This,  at  any  rate,  gave  us  a  faint  clue  as  to  how  the  affair 
had  happened,  and  we  immediately  set  off  on  the  pursuit  at 
the  full  speed  of  our  horses.  It  was  clear  enough  that  either 
the  negro  himself,  or  some  of  his  Mexican  friends  for  him, 
had  made  this  murderous  attempt  to  arrest  pursuit,  from 
ambuscade ;  and  whether  the  Bravo  had  not  fallen  a  positive 
victim,  we  were  left  in  painful  uncertainty  to  conjecture. 

It  appeared  the  more  probable  that  the  hand  of  the 
Mexicans  was  in  the  affair,  from  the  fact  that  the  ball  re 
ceived  by  Littell  was  too  large  to  fit  the  rifle  the  boy  had 
taken  with  him,  and  apparently  could  only  have  been  sent 
from  the  wide  muzzle  of  a  clumsy  escopet.  I  observed,  as 
we  swept  through  the  town,  that  groups  of  Mexicans,  with 
their  heads  buried  in  their  closely-folded  scrapes,  were  leer 
ing  at  us  with  a  grinning  interest,  which,  to  say  the  least  of 
it,  was  any  thing  but  comforting.  Those  unpleasantly  cheer 
ful  looks  haunted  me  through  the  early  part  of  the  chase. 

We  soon  reached  the  wide  level  of  the  plain  on  which  the 
town  stands,  and  for  several  hours  galloped  along  its  vast 
monotonous  expanse.  After  we  had  become  thoroughly  fa 
tigued  by  this  objectless  sameness,  relief  came  in  a  dark  dim 
line  which  began  to  loom  on  the  horizon  before  us,  and 
which,  as  we  approached  it,  opened  into  broken,  irregular 
masses  of  timber,  some  of  them  heavy  and  tall,  stretching  for 
miles,  others  low,  brushy,  and  dense,  ranged  like  black-shaded 
islands  of  ragged  and  angular  outlines,  on  either  side  of  the 
old  Spanish  trail  we  followed. 

Just  where  it  led  us  within  a  few  paces  of  the  edge  of  ono 
F 


THE   BORDER   CHASE : 

of  these  motts  or  islands,  we  saw  a  rifle  lying  upon  the 
ground.  It  was  Littell's,  and  had  the  appearance  of  having 
been  dropped  suddenly  on  receiving  the  shot  from  the  chap- 
paral  or  thicket,  which  was  an  unusually  dense  one,  of  stiff, 
thorny  bush. . 

We  separated  to  ride  around  it  and  look  for  the  trail  of 
the  assassin.  On  coming  together  again,  Hays  announced 
that  he  had  found  both  the  trampled  spot  where  a  horse  had 
stood  hitched  for  some  time  and  the  single  trail  of  the  flight, 
leading  off  in  the  direction  of  the  Rio  Grande.  After  follow 
ing  this  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  another  trail  of  a  single 
horse,  leading  from  the  main  track,  was  observed  running 
parallel  with  the  first.  This  was  that  of  a  shod  horse,  and 
Hays  exclaimed,  as  soon  as  he  saw  it : 

"  Ha !  the  Bravo  is  safe  yet,  boys,  and  after  the  fellow, 
too  !  We'll  have  him  yet.  Bravo  had  got  past  before  Lit- 
tell  was  shot,  and  must  have  caught  sight  of  the  scoundrel 
making  off." 

The  sharp,  experienced  eyes  of  these  men  at  once  recog 
nised  the  trail  of  their  comrade  as  well  as  the  main  features 
of  the  occurrence.  We  followed  these  two  trails  for  a  long 
time  without  difficulty,  at  the  same  headlong  pace  we  had 
held  since  starting.  Though  they  continued  to  hold  the 
same  general  course  with  the  old  beaten  trace  we  had  left, 
yet  they  did  not  lead  into  it  again,  but,  diverging  in  an 
irregular  manner,  dodged  around  among  the  motts,  leaving 
every  proof  that  the  chase  must  be  a  desperate  one.  The 
skill  with  which  the  Rangers  unerringly  traced  this  devious 
way,  although  we  were  going  at  a  swift  run,  was  very  surprising. 

This  hard  riding  had  of  course  very  greatly  fagged  both 
ourselves  and  horses,  and  we  were  beginning  to  fear  that  the 
uight  would  overtake  us  and  prevent  the  prosecution  of  the 
pursuit  to  any  advantage,  when  we  came  upon  a  wide  and 
seemingly  interminable  plain,  the  bare  undulating  surface  of 
which  afforded  us  little  of  either  pleasure  or  encouragement. 


A   FIRST   DAY  WITH   THE   RANGERS.  63 

Suddenly,  however,  and  most  unexpectedly,  one  of  the 
men  in  front  shouted,  while  he  pointed  with  his  gun  over  to 
the  right : 

"Look  !  that  must  be  the  Bravo.     He's  got  him  !" 

We  turned  our  heads,  and  the  figures  of  two  horsemen 
were  just  rising  into  view  over  the  ridge  of  an  undulation  far 
away  across  the  plains. 

The  figure  of  a  man  heaving  in  sight  amidst  these  wild 
solitudes,  always  causes  a  startle  and  thrill  of  expectation 
and  doubt  similar  to  the  feeling  produced  by  the  announce 
ment  of  "a  strange  sail  ahead*'  on  shipboard,  during  a  long 
voyage. 

The  eye  glances  with  careless  indifference  over  great  herds 
of  deer,  buffaloes,  or  mustangs,  dotted  in  the  distance ;  but  a 
glimpse  of  any  shape,  even  remotely  resembling  a  brother 
man,  makes  the  pulse  leap  fast  and  sharp,  and  the  blood  rush 
back  to  the  heart ;  for  in  this  lawless  region  it  is  impossible 
to  conjecture  whether,  what  would  naturally  be  an  auspicious 
event  may  not  result  in  a  mortal  struggle,  and  death  to  one 
party  or  the  other. 

This  distorted  condition  of  things  causes  strange  emotions, 
for  it  does  seem  most  outre  and  unnatural,  that  the  outlines 
which  of  all  others  ought  to  be  the  most  agreeable  should  be 
productive  of  the  most  unpleasant  excitement — while  we  can 
look  upon  thousands  and  multiplied  thousands  of  brutes  with 
a  negative  feeling,  if  not  one  of  pleasant  companionship.  I 
have  been  particularly  struck  with  this  while  travelling 
alone,  when  any  thing  the  imagination  could  conjure  into  a 
resemblance  of  the  human  form  would  produce  the  most  un 
comfortable  sensations. 

There  is  nothing  to  fear  from  the  animals,  but  from  that 
likeness  to  yourself  every  thing  of  hate  and  treachery  is  to 
be  dreaded. 

We  instantly  headed  our  horses  towards  these  distant 
riders,  who  seemed  to  be  jogging  on  very  sociably  at  a  lei- 


64  THE   BORDER   CHASE! 

surely  gait  in  the  direction  of  San  Antonio.  As  we  neared 
them,  every  moment  made  it  more  probable  that  the  man's 
first  conjecture  was  right. 

They  soon  observed  us,  and  stopped  with  some  flurry  and 
hesitation  of  manner,  but  after  a  long  and  deliberate  survey 
they  started  to  meet  us. 

I  had  thought  at  first  that  they  intended  to  wheel  and 
make  off,  but  the  assured  recognition  was  simultaneous,  and 
with  a  loud  cheer  we  increased  our  speed. 

The  Bravo  waved  his  sombrero  in  the  air  and  answered  us. 
In  a  little  while  more  we  crowded  around  him  and  his  pri 
soner,  eagerly  asking  a  multitude  of  questions. 

The  man  was  tied  with  a  lariat  about  his  feet,  which  was 
passed  under  the  belly  of  his  horse.  His  hands  were  also 
tied  behind  him,  and  their  appearance  of  sociability  at  the 
distance  was  fully  explained  when  we  saw  that  the  Bravo 
was  leading  his  horse  by  another  lariat.  He  was  a  Mexican 
of  spare  figure,  with  a  lean  Roman  face,  sharp  black  eyes, 
and  a  vivid  expression  of  bold  knavery,  not  at  all  cowed  by 
our  numbers  and  wrathful  looks.  His  whole  appearance  was 
altogether  unlike  the  usual  downward-eyed,  sneaking,  wolfish 
look,  common  to  Mexicans  in  circumstances  of  peril  such  as 
those  surrounding  him.  The  audacity  of  the  fellow's  bearing 
at  once  attracted  comment. 

"Why,  Bravo, "said  Fitzgerald,  "what  the  deuse  are  you 
doing  with  that  saucy-looking  fellow  alive  ?  You  are  the 
last  man  I  should  have  suspected  of  having  the  'vice  of 
mercy'  in  you !" 

"Ha,  ha!"  laughed  he,  "the  best  of  the  joke  is,  that  I 
kept  him  alive  simply  because  he  gave  me  so  much  trouble 
in  catching  him.  He's  a  regular  curiosity ;  and  I  wanted  to 
show  you  a  live  Mexican,  who  was  good  pluck  to  the  very 
back-bone — the  only  specimen  of  the  kind  that  I  conjecture 
any  of  you  ever  saw." 

"  The  scoundrel,"  said  Hays,  "  I  don't  see  that  it  required 


A  FIRST   DAY  WITH   THE   RANGERS.  65 

any  great  bravery  to  shoot  a  man  from  the  bush.  We'll  take 
him  off  your  hands — I'll  have  him  disposed  of." 

"  That's  just  what  I  wanted,  Jack,"  (so  Hays  was  fami 
liarly  called,)  "  I  spared  the  rascal  once,  because  he  made 
me  laugh  by  his  bold  impudence,  just  as  I  was  in  the  act  of 
pulling  trigger  upon  him  for  the  second  time,  and  I  don't 
feel  disposed  to  kill  him  now,  though  I  want  you  all  to  do  it, 
for  he  deserves  it  a  hundred  times.  Don't  you  remember 
him  ?" 

"I  think  I  have  seen  him  before,"  said  Hays,  "but  where 
or  when  I  can't  recollect.  It  doesn't  matter,  though :  we'll 
relieve  you  of  him." 

"  You  have  not  forgotten  Gonzaleze,  the  dexterous  thief, 
who  stole  your  sorrel  horse,  last  summer,  and  ran  him  off 
across  the  Rio  Grande  ?" 

"  Ha  !  this  is  the  same  fellow :  well,  we'll  pay  him  off  all 
scores  this  time." 

"  He  understands  perfectly  what  you  say.  By  the  way, 
have  you  seen  or  heard  any  thing  of  Littell  ?  He  went  off 
in  a  singular  style.  I  thought  he  was  shot." 

Hays  explained  to  him  the  circumstances  the  reader  is 
already  in  possession  of;  and  while  we  rode  slowly  towards  a 
distant  line  of  timber,  indicating  a  stream  on  which  we  meant 
to  camp  for  the  night,  the  Bravo  related  his  story  of  the 
day's  events  to  us. 

"After  leaving  you  in  the  street  this  morning,  we  con 
tinued  at  the  best  speed  of  our  horses  on  the  old  Rio  Grande 
trail :  for  though  we  saw  nothing  of  the  boy's  trail  upon  it  at 
first,  I  felt  convinced  we  should  find  it  after  a  while,  for  I 
knew  he  must  have  taken  this  route.  Sure  enough,  within 
about  five  miles  of  town,  we  saw  where  it  came  in  along  with 
another  horse.  I  suspected  at  once  that  this  was  the  Mexi 
can  who  was  guiding  and  assisting  him. 

"  "We  kept  on  very  rapidly,  and  Littell  had  fallen  several 

hundred  yards  behind  me,  when,  after  passing  that  point  of 
F2  5 


66  THE   BORDER   CHASE: 

timber  some  moments,  I  heard  a  gun  behind  me,  and,  turning 
my  head  very  quickly,  I  saw  your  horse  just  shying  from 
the  smoke,  and  wheeling  on  the  back  track,  while  the  rifle 
of  Littell  dropped  from  his  hands. 

"  I  saw  from  his  manner,  that  he  was  hit,  and  expected 
to  see  him  fall.  The  horse  appeared  to  be  greatly  frightened, 
and  was  clearly  running  without  any  control.  It  at  once 
occurred  to  me  that  the  man  who  fired  would  attempt  to  es 
cape  from  the  other  side  of  the  mott,  and  thinking  more  of 
vengeance  than  any  thing  else,  as  soon  as  I  could  rein  up 
and  turn  my  horse,  I  galloped  round  it. 

"  I  saw  this  fellow  already  in  the  saddle,  making  across 
the  prairie,  and  instantly  took  after  him.  He  had  the  start 
of  me,  and  kept  it  for  nearly  two  hours,  through  the  hottest 
and  hardest  chase  that  ever  I  had.  I  thought  at  one  time 
the  scamp  would  beat  me  and  get  away ;  but  the  staunch 
bottom  of  my  horse  proved  too  much  for  his.  Such  doubles, 
and  turns,  and  twists  as  he  made  among  the  motts  you  never 
saw  in  your  life." 

"  Yes,"  interrupted  Fitz,  "  we  have  had  a  very  perfect 
idea  of  them :  haven't  we  been  worried  enough  in  following 
your  trail  ?" 

"  As  his  horse  began  to  fail,"  continued  the  Bravo,  "  he 
doubled  like  a  fox  in  the  eifort  to  lose  me  among  the  islands ; 
but  T  had  no  notion  of  being  thrown  off,  and  after  a  while 
began  to  close  rapidly  upon  him. 

"  When  he  became  convinced  that  there  was  no  chance  for 
his  escape,  very  greatly  to  my  astonishment,  he  turned  sud 
denly  in  the  saddle,  levelling  a  large  pistol  at  me :  I  bent 
forward  over  my  horse's  neck,  and  the  ball  whizzed  above 
me  ;  as  I  straightened  up,  I  also  fired,  but  missed,  and  at  the 
same  instant  my  horse  came  full  tilt  against  his,  and  we 
went  down  together. 

"  I  was  on  my  feet  first,  and,  with  my  second  pistol  against 
his  prostrate  body,  was  in  the  act  of  firing  into  him,  when, 


A  FIRST   DAY  WITH   THE   RANGERS.  67 

with  the  most  cool  and  comical  expression  conceivable,  he 
exclaimed,  as  he  looked  up,  grinning  in  my  face — 

"  l  You  missed  and  I  missed — we  are  even  !' 

"  I  burst  into  a  laugh,  and  threw  down  my  pistol,  while 
the  fellow  rose  and  shook  himself,  and  began  to  kick  and 
curse  his  prostrate  horse. 

" '  Garracho !  you  nasty  brute,  if  I  hadn't  thought  you 
were  better  bottom,  I  should  not  have  gone  to  the  trouble  to 
steal  you ;'  and  turning  to  me,  he  observed,  '  but  he  pushed 
you  some,  any  how.  I  shall  have  to  steal  your  bay  next.' 

"  I  was  so  tickled  at  this  unprecedented  impudence,  that  I 
fairly  roared,  while  the  knave,  finding  he  had  got  the  right 
side  of  me,  continued  in  the  same  strain — 

"  '  I  let  you  pass,  but  it  was  an  old  grudge  I  had  against 
Littell.  He  had  me  whipped  in  Matamoras,  last  spring,  and 
I  promised  to  be  even  with  him  before  the  year  was  out ;  and 
you  see  I  have  been  as  good  as  my  word.  I  hope  he's  done 
for.' 

"  There  was  something  so  funny  and  original  in  the  rascal's 
saucy  self-possession,  that  it  was  some  little  time  before  I 
could  restrain  my  laughter  sufficiently  to  address  him. 

"'You  can't  expect  any  mercy  from  us,  you  scamp,' 
said  I. 

" '  Oh !  no,  I  suppose  you  are  going  to  have  me  shot. 
Muy  bueno — I  think  I've  worked  for  it.  I  have  stolen  some 
half-dozen  horses  from  you  Rangers.' 

"  '  Ha  !  you  are  Gonzaleze  ?' 

«<Yes.' 

"  'Well,  I  pity  you  if  Hays  or  any  of  the  boys  get  hold 
of  you.  I  mean  to  tie  you  and  take  you  into  town.' 

" i  Bueno,'  he  said,  holding  out  his  hands  readily,  and  I 
tied  them,  and  here  he  is.  You  may  shoot  the  fellow  if  you 
can,  but  I'll  be  sworn  I  neither  can,  nor  will  have  a  hand  in 
it.  He's  such  an  odd  genius,  that  I  think  it  would  be  a  SID 


68  THE    BORDER   CHASE: 

almost  to  shoot  him  ;  though  it  ought,  undoubtedly,  to  be 
done,  and  I  wish  you  all  would  do  it." 

"  Oh  !"  said  Hays,  dryly,  "  never  fear,  Bravo,  we'll  relieve 
you  on  that  score  very  shortly.  But  here's  the  water — we'll 
draw  lots  for  the  six  who  shall  shoot  him,  as  soon  as  we  get 
ready  for  camping." 

I  could4  not  help  feeling  enlisted  in  the  Bravo's  sympathy 
for  the  man,  who,  during  this  conversation — every  word  of 
which  he  understood — had  maintained  the  same  bearing  of 
reckless  and  defiant  coolness. 

We  dismounted  by  the  side  of  a  clear,  rapid  stream,  under 
the  narrow  fringe  of  timber  which  bordered  it,  and  after 
tying  the  Mexican  to  a  tree,  proceeded  to  strip  our  horses, 
stake  them  out  to  grass,  kindle  a  fire,  and  make  all  the  usual 
preparations  for  camping.  This  was  all  done  in  perfect 
silence,  for  the  stern  resolve  which  was  about  to  be  executed 
left,  under  any  view  of  it,  no  room  for  frivolity  of  feeling. 

The  Bravo  had  instantly,  on  dismounting,  and  in  entire  for- 
getfulness  of  his  faithful  horse,  stretched  himself  on  the  grass 
in  front  of  Gonzaleze,  and  continued  to  regard  his  face — 
which  maintained  unblenchingly  its  expression  of  calm  indif 
ference — with  a  gaze  of  intensely  curious  interest. 

Indeed,  it  was  an  awful  trial  his  hardy  nerve  was  sub 
jected  to — looking  upon  the  silent  progress  of  a  preparation, 
the  consummation  of  which  he  well  knew  was  to  close  his 
account  with  men  and  the  world.  There  was  to  me  some 
thing  positively  terrible  in  the  mute  activity  of  our  men,  and 
the  sharp,  fixed  alertness  of  the  regard  of  the  prisoner. 

When  every  thing  had  been  arranged,  we  gathered  around 
the  fire,  in  speechless  awe — feeling  that  the  crisis  had  come, 
yet  dreading  its  action. 

Not  a  word  was  spoken,  till  Hays  said,  in  a  low  voice,  as 
he  pulled  a  pencil  and  some  paper  from  his  pocket : — 

"  The  six  men  of  the  eleven,  who  draw  the  lowest  numbers, 
will  shoot  him !" 


A  FIRST   DAY  WITH   THE   RANGERS.  69 

He  then  proceeded  to  write  them  down,  and  handed  them 
round  to  us  in  his  hat. 

I  drew  my  number  with  a  degree  of  nervousness  that  sur 
prised  me ;  for,  independent  of  my  natural  and  invincible 
horror  of  a  cold-blooded  execution  such  as  this,  I  had  par 
taken  of  the  Bravo's  liking  for  the  singular  and  piquant 
traits  this  fellow  had  exhibited,  and  was  very  loath  to  be 
made  an  instrument  of  his  death ! 

My  gratification  was  extreme,  when  I  saw  that  my  number 
was  so  high  as  to  place  me  out  of  danger.  Those  who  drew 
the  low  numbers,  seemed  to  feel  the  most  perfect  indifference 
about  the  affair,  and  ranged  themselves  in  front  of  Gonzaleze 
with  precisely  the  same  air  that  would  have  characterized 
them  had  it  been  a  wooden  target  they  were  going  to  shoot 
at,  instead  of  a  fellow  being. 

The  row  of  dark  tubes  was  levelled  at  him,  and  Hays  was 
opening  his  lips  to  enunciate  the  fatal  word  "  fire,"  when  the 
man,  in  a  clear,  petulant  voice,  said — 

"  Garracho  !  don't  aim  so  low,  you  clumsy  sapheads  !" 

The  Bravo,  springing  to  his  feet,  exclaimed — 

"  Jack,  hear  that !  don't  shoot  this  fellow !  spare  him  for 
my  sake !" 

Hays  waved  his  hand,  and  the  guns,  greatly  to  my  grati 
fication,  were  lowered,  and  in  another  moment,  the  Bravo 
had  cut  the  thongs  which  bound  the  limbs  of  the  Mexican, 
and  he  stood  before  us  a  free  man. 

With  the  same  unmoved  self-collection  and  frankness  which 
had  characterized  his  whole  bearing,  he  proceeded  to  explain 
to  us  his  connection  with  the  negro's  escape. 

He  told  us  that,  attracted  by  a  human  sympathy  for  the 
boy,  whom  he  had  accidentally  met  in  the  shop  of  the  black 
smith,  with  his  heavy  chains  on,  he  had  furnished  him  with 
a  file  to  cut  them,  and  advised  him  to  the  utmost  as  to  the 
manner  of  his  escape,  and  guided  and  accompanied  him  in 
his  flight  to  the  thicket,  where  he  had  concealed  himself 


70  THE   BORDER   CHASE. 

while  the  boy  went  on,  and,  recognising  the  Bravo,  had  let 
him  go  by ;  but  the  features  of  his  old  and  sworn  enemy  had 
proved  too  much  for  his  prudence,  and  he  shot  at  him,  with 
the  results  we  have  seen. 

Such  as  it  was,  this  was  my  first  day  with  the  "Rangers," 
and  we  were  soon  afterwards  sound  asleep  on  the  grass.  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  that  the  boy  made  good  his  es 
cape  across  the  Rio  Grande,  with  all  his  plunder. 


GONZALEZE  AGAIN; 

OB, 

THE    BRAVO'S    STRATAGEM. 


GONZALEZE  AGAIN; 

OR,   THE    BRAVO'S    STRATAGEM. 


IT  must  be  confessed  that  our  Rangers  held  a  somewhat 
nominal  allegiance  to  the  President  of  Texas,  though  their 
commissions  were  in  his  name.  That  august  official  had  far 
too  many  hungry  pap-suckers  clinging  to  the  lean  bosom  of 
the  home  Treasury  to  spare  one  generous  drop  even,  for  the 
nourishment  of  this  distant  frontier ;  so  that  the  bold  spirits 
•who  ventured  there  had  glory  to  any  amount  meted  out  for 
their  subsistence  by  his  prodigal  hand,  and  if  they  found  any 
thing  less  sublimated  and  more  substantial  necessary,  they 
were  told  with  a  superb  hauteur,  that  "  honour  was  the  dear 
est  gift  of  princes;"  and  that,  as  to  these  grosser  matters, 
they  might  shift  for  themselves  ! 

The  consequence  was,  as  "  necessity  knows  no  law,"  that 
these  young  gentlemen  could  not  at  any  rate  be  expected 
to  trouble  themselves  with  framing  an  original  code  for  it, 
under  such  circumstances  ;  indeed,  their  veneration  of  a 
custom  so  antiquated  as  that  "  the  memory  of  man  runneth 
not  to  the  contrary,"  would  have  forbidden  it,  if  nothing 
else ;  and  in  this  classical  taste  they  were  necessarily  highly 
prejudiced  in  favour  of  the  primeval  axiom,  "Might  is  right," 
which  was  adopted  as  their  creed,  moral  and  political ! 

The  fifteen  hundred  Mexicans,  who  made  up  the  remaining 
G  73 


74  GONZALEZE   AGAIN;   OR, 

population  of  the  town,  as  well  as  the  swarms  along  the  dis 
tant  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande,  were  made  to  appreciate  very 
fully  the  practical  results  of  this  creed,  which  was  carried 
out  at  their  expense  in  sundry  unceremonious  contributions, 
levied  by  these  adventurous  zealots  with  a  faithfulness  which 
would  have  secured  the  seventh  heaven  to  followers  of  Mo 
hammed. 

Captain  Hays,  as  we  have  mentioned,  was  the  master-spirit 
of  this  band,  and  ranking  next  to  him  was  the  hero  of  our 
adventure,  whom  we  have  already  introduced  as  a  young 
gentleman  whose  very  feminine  and  delicate  features  con 
trasted  remarkably  with  the  traits  of  remorseless  hardihood 
which  had  gained  him  the  soubriquet  of  "  the  Bravo.'1 

There  was  no  desperate  enterprise  in  which  the  Bravo  did 
not  of  choice  lead  the  forlorn  hope ;  there  was  nothing  too 
inadly  daring  and  too  near  impossible  for  him  to  undertake,  if 
he  once  took  the  whim  into  his  head  that  he  would  accom 
plish  it.  Hays  was  the  more  powerful  character,  and  like 

"  Hector  in  his  blaze  of  wrath  subscribed 
To  tender  objects ;  but  he,  in  heat  of  action, 
Was  more  vindictive  than  jealous  love." 

And  not  in  the  heat  of  action  only,  but  under  all  possible 
contingencies  where  the  blood  of  the  hated  Mexicans  of  the 
Rio  Grande  was  at  issue,  he  was  pitiless  as  winter ! 

Antonio  Navarro,  a  Mexican  of  Hidalgo  descent,  who  had 
joined  the  Texans  in  their  revolt,  and  fought  shoulder  to 
shoulder  with  them  throughout  the  revolution,  was  very 
popular  and  much  respected  by  the  Americans  of  Bahai,  who 
had  given  him  their  votes  as  Mayor,  and  were  ready  to  stand 
by  him  under  all  circumstances.  Navarro  was  rich,  and  car 
ried  on,  through  agents  who  were  not  altogether  so  obnoxious 
to  the  Mexican  government  as  himself,  quite  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  trade  with  the  villages  beyond  the  Rio  Grande. 


THE   BRAVO'S   STRATAGEM.  75 

It  happened  just  at  this  crisis  that  he  was  in  a  serious 
quandary. 

His  last  trading  venture,  which  had  been  a  heavy  one,  had 
been  successfully  converted  into  silver ;  but  his  faithful  agent 
had  sent  him  word  that  he  dared  not  budge  a  foot  with  his 
precious  charge,  two  or  three  mule  loads  of  which  he  was 
guarding  night  and  day  at  the  rancho  of  Navarro's  old 
friend,  Don  Jose,  on  the  Texan  bank  of  the  Rio  Grande. 
For  he  feared  that  his  old  friend,  tempted  by  the  richness  of 
the  prize,  had  proved  unfaithful,  and  had  given  the  renowned 
and  formidable  outlaw,  Agatone,  a  hint  of  the  intended 
transfer,  that  he  might  intercept  it  on  the  way  across  those 
sterile  plains  which  stretch  between  that  river  and  Bahai. 

It  was  very  certain,  at  least,  that  he  was  beleaguered  by 
the  spies  of  the  bandit  captain;  that  a  detachment  of  his 
troops  were  hanging  round  the  rancho,  waiting  for  the  trea 
sure  to  be  started,  with  the  intention  of  attacking  those 
having  it  in  charge,  on  the  prairies ;  that  Agatone,  who  was 
the  mortal  enemy  of  Navarro,  had  sworn  that  his  money 
should  never  reach  Bahai ;  and  the  agent,  in  sore  distress, 
begged  him  to  send  a  formidable  escort,  sufficiently  strong  to 
defy  the  whole  force  of  Agatone,  for  without  this  it  would  be 
madness  to  leave  the  walls  of  the  rancho ;  and  he  was  not 
even  sure,  by  any  means,  it  was  safe  there,  for  that  the  con 
duct  of  Don  Jose  savoured  very  strongly  of  treachery. 

Poor  Navarro  was  sadly  taken  aback  by  this  news.  But 
he  went  instantly  to  work  and  equipped  a  troop  of  the  vaga 
bond  braggadocio  Mexicans  about  Bahai,  and  started  it  off 
under  the  command  of  a  trusted  servant,  to  bring  in  his 
silver,  and  frighten  Agatone's  cut-throats.  He  sent  private 
instructions  through  to  his  agent  having  charge  of  the  money, 
not  to  trust  it  to  these  fellows  unless  he  had  ascertained 
whether  they  would  stand  fire  or  not,  for  on  this  point  he 
nad  some  shrewd  doubts,  growing  out  of  his  intimate  know 
ledge  of  his  fellow-citizens.  The  agent  was  first  to  send 


76  GONZALEZE   AGAIN;  OR, 

them  with  a  great  parade  of  sacks,  stuffed  with  moss  and 
gravel,  a  day  or  two's  journey  on  the  return  trail. 

In  this  time  the  attack  of  Agatone  would  probably  be 
made,  and  if  they  should  prove  able  to  cope  with  him  and 
show  any  game,  the  agent  might  then  go  back  and  fill  his 
sacks  in  earnest,  with  some  prospect  of  reaching  home  with 
their  contents. 

This  wary  stratagem  was  carried  out  to  the  letter,  and 
the  result  proved  it  to  have  been  a  wise  precaution,  for  the 
cowardly  ragamuffins  scarcely  waited  Agatone's  first  charge 
before  they  were  scattered,  flying  helter-skelter  in  every  di 
rection  over  the  plains ;  and  nearly  all  of  them  killed  their 
horses  by  running,  and  came  straggling  into  Bahai  on  foot, 
with  an  awful  tale  of  robbery,  blood,  and  devoted  courage  on 
their  part,  each  man  vowing  as  he  arrived,  that  he  had  fought 
until  all  those  yet  left  behind  him  were  killed ;  and  not  a 
little  laughter  did  it  create  among  the  Americans,  as  one 
after  another  the  ghosts  of  these  heroes  thus  unceremo 
niously  consigned  to  the  gory  bed  of  honour,  would  come 
dropping  in,  apparelled  in  the  old-fashioned  garb  of  flesh 
and  blood. 

The  truth  was,  that  Agatone  had  not  pursued  them  at  all, 
but  stopping  at  the  money  bags,  eagerly  ripped  them  open 
with  his  dagger,  that  he  might  gloat  his  hungry  vision  upon 
the  shining  contents.  The  rage  of  the  baffled  ruffian  may  be 
better  conceived  than  told,  when  a  stream  of  shells  and  peb 
bles  followed  through  the  rent ;  he  swore  all  sorts  of  dire 
oaths  as  he  thrust  his  damaged  dagger  back  into  the  sheath. 

But  the  faithful  agent,  whose  name  was  Alvarez,  had  taken 
care  to  keep  out  of  harm's  way,  and,  with  the  most  trustworthy 
of  his  men,  was  securely  housed  in  Don  Jose's  rancho,  guard 
ing  the  treasure  like  a  sleepless  gryphon,  and  in  despite  of 
the  treachery  of  his  host,  who  dared  not  take  ground  openly, 
he  managed  to  keep  the  infuriated  Agatone  at  bay. 

Navarro  of  course  needed  no  telegraphing  to  be  made 


THE   BRAVO'S   STRATAGEM.  77 

aware  of  what  had  occurred ;  but  he  was  now  fairly  at  his 
wit's  end,  for  it  was  clear  enough  he  would  never  get  his 
money  if  he  trusted  to  Mexican  valour  to  bring  it  to  him ; 
and  besides,  no  possible  inducement  would  have  operated  in 
organizing  another  expedition  composed  solely  of  Mexicans, 
for  it  would  take  them  a  month  or  two  to  recover  from  this 
fright ;  and  were  he  even  to  send  double  the  number,  they 
would  all  run  at  the  first  sight  of  Agatone. 

The  jealousies  between  the  Mexican  and  American  citizens 
had  prevented  his  asking  assistance  of  Hays  and  his  com 
pany,  for  he  knew  that  they  scorned  his  cowardly  country 
men  too  entirely  to  participate  with  them  in  any  enterprise ; 
and  now  that  he  had  endeavoured  to  get  along  without  them, 
and  being  so  signally  defeated,  he  feared  it  would  sadly  in 
jure  his  popularity  should  he  employ  the  Americans,  and 
give  them  another  opportunity,  by  contrasting  the  successful 
issue  of  their  adventure  with  the  disgraceful  one  of  the 
Mexicans,  to  taunt  and  crow  over  them,  which  spirit  they 
had  already  carried  to  sufficiently  galling  extremes  to  endan 
ger  the  public  peace. 

He  knew  that  if  he  applied  to  the  Americans  now,  they 
would  only  assist  him  in  view  of  this  very  triumph,  and  be 
sure  to  make  the  most  of  it ;  so  that  between  the  fear  of 
losing  his  popularity,  and  of  losing  his  money,  he  was  fairly 
half-demented ;  how  both  were  to  be  secured,  he  could  not  by 
any  possibility  conceive. 

He  had  been  chafing  and  foaming  over  the  matter  for 
several  days,  without  seeing  his  way  any  more  clearly  out  of 
the  difficulty;    and,   to  cap  the  climax,  had  just   received 
another  message  from  Alvarez,  urging  him,  as  he  valued  his 
silver,  to  hurry  on  some  one  to  his  relief,  for  he  was  almost 
worn  down  by  watching,  and  the  aspect  of  affairs  was  be 
coming  every  hour  more  unpromising ;  but  that  there  was  a 
solitary  glimmering  of  hope  left,  for  he  had  received  infor 
mation  from  a  sure  quarter  that  Agatone  had  gone  for  a  ro 
G2 


78  GONZALEZE   AGAIX;    OR, 

inforcement,  and  was  to  be  absent  several  days,  but  that 
when  he  returned  he  intended  storming  the  rancho,  and  had 
sworn  to  cut  all  their  throats  for  the  trick  they  had  played 
on  him,  and  have  his  revenge  and  his  money  any  how. 

He  prayed  Navarro  to  take  advantage  of  this  absence  of 
his  enemy — who  had  left  his  troops  in  command  of  a  lieute 
nant — and  slip  in  and  get  him  out  of  this  scrape,  and  the 
money  in  before  Agatone  returned.  That  he  must  try  to 
effect  this  by  stratagem,  if  not  by  force. 

This  was  a  strong  appeal.  The  worthy  merchant  and 
mayor,  already  near  the  last  gasp  of  desperation,  was  almost 
floored  by  it.  But  those  self-same  venerable  laconics  which 
have  asserted  that  "  necessity  knows  no  law,"  have  also 
christened  it  the  "mother  of  invention;"  and  Navarro,  in 
this  mortal  extremity,  suddenly  bethought  him  of  the  "  Bra 
vo," — of  the  violent  passion  he  had  been  seized  with  to  pos 
sess  a  certain  coal-black  and  magnificent  steed  which  Navarro 
had  taken  from  a  Camanche  chief. 

It  was  by  far  the  finest  animal  ever  seen  on  that  frontier, 
and  the  Bravo  had  tried  often  and  over,  in  all  sorts  of  ways, 
to  obtain  him.  But  although  Navarro  valued  him  immensely, 
yet  the  estimate  did  not  quite  overbalance  his  silver  bags, 
and  he  knew  the  Bravo  would  risk  his  life  a  hundred  times 
to  get  possession  of  him. 

Delighted  by  the  sudden  illumination  of  this  thought,  he 
sent  for  the  Bravo  at  once,  proposed  the  expedition  to  him, 
and  the  coveted  steed  as  the  rewaid. 

The  eyes  of  the  young  adventurer  glistened ;  for  of  all 
things  he  could  conceive  of  just  then,  that  horse  he  valued 
the  most.  Money  was  nothing  in  the  scale  against  him,  for 
no  Arab  had  ever  greater  cause  for  regarding  the  mettle  of 
his  horse  as  quite  as  important,  in  the  sort  of  life  he  led,  as 
that  of  his  dirk  or  his  pistol ;  and  what  was  more,  he  had 
not  been  in  a  single  fight  for  a  week  or  two :  the  Camanches 
had  become  so  distressingly  shy,  and  the  Mexicans  so  uncom- 


THE   BRAVO'S    STRATAGEM.  79 

fortably  quiet,  that  he  was  almost  bored  to  death  by  the 
vapid  and  tiresome  monotony  of  peace  ;  and  his  blood  was 
fairly  seething  for  a  small  affair  of  some  sort  or  other ;  so 
that  nothing  could  have  been  more  apropos  than  the  pro 
position  of  Navarro,  even  leaving  the  horse  out  of  the  ques 
tion  ;  but  with  the  prospect  of  getting  "  the  black,"  and 
killing  a  few  of  Agatone's  rascals  to  boot,  he  was  supremely 
and  perfectly  beatified. 

He  forthwith  closed  with  Navarro's  offer,  adding  as  con 
ditions,  that  he  was  to  have  the  horse  to  ride,  and  to  manago 
the  whole  affair  in  his  own  way,  without  any  questioning  on 
the  part  of  any  one ;  that  he  should  select  five  men  who  were 
to  be  equipped  to  accompany  him :  and  great  was  the  as 
tonishment  of  Navarro  when  he  announced  that  these  five 
men  were  to  be  Mexicans,  and  the  most  roguish,  worthless 
vagabonds  in  the  town,  at  that. 

He  had  expected,  of  course,  that  the  Bravo  would  take 
with  him  his  own  countrymen,  and  it  was  upon  their  com 
bined  boldness  and  ingenuity  he  had  counted  for  success ; 
and  at  this  unexpected  proposition  he  was  grievously  dis 
turbed,  for  the  inevitable  result  seemed  to  promise  the  loss 
of  both  horse  and  money.  In  vain  he  remonstrated.  The 
Bravo  would  make  no  explanation  of  his  plans,  but  insisted 
upon  his  terms,  or  refused  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  the 
matter. 

Navarro  went  to  Hays,  and  begged  him  to  use  his  influence 
in  persuading  the  Bravo  to  change  his  plans,  and  take  Ameri 
cans.  Hays  went  to  him,  and  offered  to  accompany  him 
with  his  whole  troop ;  but  he  refused  the  proffer,  and  Hays 
turned  off,  saying  very  coolly  to  Navarro — 

"  0  never  disturb  yourself  about  the  Bravo  !  he'll  do  it ! 
He's  got  a  plan  of  his  own — let  him  alone  !" 

So,  as  it  was  the  only  hope,  Navarro  was  compelled  to 
equip  the  five  Mexicans  designated,  and  let  him  have  his 
own  way. 


80  GONZALEZE  AGAIN;   OR, 

But  it  was  with  a  heavy  heart  he  saw  him  start  the  next 
day,  curvetting  over  the  prairie  on  the  black  steed,  and  he 
drew  a  long  sigh  as  his  favourite  horse  disappeared  beyond 
the  undulations ;  for  he  never  expected  to  hear  from  him  or 
his  money  again. 

In  truth,  it  appeared  to  every  one,  Mexicans  as  well  as 
Americans,  the  most  fantastically  impossible  scheme  that 
ever  entered  the  brain  of  desperado; — the  effort,  in  the 
teeth  of  all  Agatone's  banditti,  to  bring  off  a  large  sum  in 
silver  across  a  hundred  miles  of  desert  plains,  with  only  five 
cowardly  Mexicans  for  escort,  any  one  of  whom  would  sell 
his  life  for  a  plug  of  tobacco !  It  looked  like  the  collapse 
stage  of  the  dare-devil  mania !  But  the  Bravo  had  done  so 
many  improbable  things,  there  was  no  telling  what  might  be 
the  result  now. 

So  everybody  waited,  with  the  most  intense  curiosity  and 
anxiety,  the  issue.  With  permission  of  our  readers,  we  will 
accompany  the  mad- cap  through  this  promising  undertaking. 

He  travelled  with  great  speed,  making  long  stages,  and 
only  stopping  to  refresh  his  horse,  and  seeming  to  be  utterly 
regardless  of  the  five  Mexicans,  leaving  them  to  keep  up  or 
not,  as  they  could.  They,  poor  rascals,  were  frightened  at 
the  idea  of  being  left  behind  to  shift  for  themselves,  in  case 
they  should  meet  Camanches,  and  took  very  good  care  to 
keep  in  sight,  at  least;  though  to  accomplish  this  on  their 
inferior  horses  was  a  very  serious  business ;  so  that  by  the 
time  he  reached  the  rancho  of  Don  Jose,  their  animals  were 
pretty  well  used  up. 

The  Bravo  had  purposely  selected  these  fellows  from  among 
the  most  notoriously  drunken  and  faithless  villains  of  Bexar ! 
Honest  Alvarez,  who  was  on  the  watch,  instantly  opened  the 
gates  to  the  Bravo. 

Don  Jose  happened  not  to  be  at  hand  when  this  was  done ; 
out  when  he  returned  and  found  the  single  American  inso 
lently  ordering  his  people  about,  and  acting  in  all  respects 


THE   BRAVO'S    STRATAGEM.  81 

as  if  he  were  lord  of  the  rancho,  he  became  furiously  en 
raged,  and  ordered  the  Bravo  to  clear  out,  and  threatened 
to  tie  him  up  and  give  him  a  quirt  on  his  bare  back. 

It  never  occurred  to  him  for  a  moment  that  a  solitary 
American,  with  only  a  river  between  him  and  Mexico,  and 
with  several  hundred  Mexicans  about  him,  would  dare  to  offer 
resistance !  The  Bravo  paid  no  attention  to  his  threats,  but 
in  an  imperious  tone  demanded  of  him  the  surrender  of  the 
silver. 

To  Don  Jose  this  seemed  capping  the  climax  of  presump 
tion.  He  ordered  his  peones  to  seize  and  strip  him.  But 
this  was  more  easily  said  than  done. 

While  they  hesitated  a  moment  without  obeying,  the  Bravo 
very  coolly  drew  a  pistol,  and  stepping  up  to  Don  Jose,  who 
was  surrounded  by  his  peones,  twisted  his  hand  into  his  hair, 
and  drawing  down  his  head,  placed  the  cold  iron  muzzle  of 
the  pistol  against  his  temple.  At  the  same  instant,  as  the 
peones  were  in  the  act  of  rushing  on  him,  some  one  shouted 
from  the  crowd — 

"  It's  the  Bravo  !     It's  the  Bravo  !     Look  out !" 

At  this  formidable  name  the  menial  herd  scattered  as  if  a 
torpedo  had  fallen  among  them,  and  poor  Don  Jose  was  left 
to  his  fate. 

Such  was  the  terror  the  singular  hardihood  of  this  man 
had  inspired  the  border  Mexicans  with,  that  they  had  as  soon 
undertake  to  encounter  a  regiment  of  devils  as  brave  the 
prowess  of  his  single  arm.  He  held  the  shivering  Don  Jose 
in  this  pleasant  position  until  he  made  him  kiss  the  cross  and 
swear  to  be  true — this  is  the  only  form  of  oath  at  all  bind 
ing  with  a  Mexican. 

With  a  magnanimous  air  he  then  told  him  he  would  spare 
his  life,  and  released  him.  He  ordered  him  to  get  the  key, 
and  show  him  the  most  secure  room  in  the  rancho,  which 
having  been  done,  he  compelled  him  to  assist  Alvarez  and 
himself  to  remove  the  silver  into  it.  Then  speaking  a  few 


82  GONZALEZE  AGAIN;    OK, 

words  in  a  low  tone  to  Alvarez,  he  entered  the  room  alone, 
closed  the  door,  locked  it  on  the  inside,  and  throwing  him 
self  down  with  the  bags  for  a  pillow,  was  sound  asleep  in  a 
few  moments. 

Great  was  the  rejoicing  among  the  Mexicans  that  this 
scourge  of  the  borders  was  at  last  entrapped — had  in  his 
over-daring  recklessness  thrown  himself  alone  amidst  swarms 
of  enemies ;  and  though  they  submitted  to  his  insolence  in 
the  rancho,  and  dare  not  attack  him  openly,  they  revelled  in 
anticipative  gibes  over  his  carcass  riddled  with  balls,  as  they 
intended  it  should  be.  How  was  it  possible  for  him  to 
escape  ?  The  faith  of  the  villains  he  had  brought  along  with 
him  had  given  way  at  the  first  assault — for  they  had  been 
forthwith  surrounded  by  the  emissaries  of  Agatone,  and  for 
a  few  pounds  of  tobacco  apiece,  had  agreed,  every  man  of 
them,  to  join  the  plot  for  his  assassination. 

The  lieutenant  of  Agatone  had  seen  his  approach,  and 
might  have  set  upon  him  then,  with  all  his  men,  and  killed 
him,  but  he  chose  rather  to  wait  till  he  started  on  his  return 
with  the  money,  and  thus  secure  both  objects  at  once.  As 
for  poor  Alvarez  and  his  two  honest  followers,  they  were  of 
course  to  be  exterminated  along  with  him ! 

And  then,  this  carelessness  of  his,  in  throwing  himself 
down  to  sleep  without  taking  any  precautions  to  see  that  his 
men  were  not  tampered  with,  showed  that  he  neither  feared 
nor  suspected  any  thing ;  and  they  fairly  danced  for  joy,  as 
they  saw  every  thing  so  propitious  for  a  certain  revenge  of 
all  the  high-handed  indignities  and  murders  he  had  com 
mitted  upon  their  countrymen.  Alvarez  seemed  to  be  in  a 
wonderfully  fine  humour,  highly  elated  at  the  prospects  of 
escaping,  and  paid  no  attention  to  the  whisperings  and  plot- 
tings  that  were  going  on  around  him. 

He  bought  several  gallons  of  nouya,  and,  with  one  of  the 
Mexicans  who  had  accompanied  the  Bravo,  called  Juan,  and 
who  was  the  most  proverbial  scoundrel  among  them,  he 


THE   BKAVO'S   STRATAGEM.  83 

seemed  determined  to  make  a  regular  drunken  frolic  in 
honour  of  his  deliverance.  The  rest,  having  settled  their 
plans  with  Agatone's  spies,  who  departed,  were  soon  drawn 
into  the  carouse,  which  they  kept  up  regularly  until  day. 
Had  a  sober  man  looked  on,  he  would  have  perceived  that 
Alvarez  and  Juan  were  not  quite  so  drunk  as  they  wished  to 
appear. 

When  morning  came,  the  Bravo  chimed  in  with  the  con 
vivial  spirit  of  his  followers,  and  at  starting,  filled  all  their 
water-gourds  with  nouya  for  them.  Don  Jose  was  very  offi 
cious  in  furnishing  the  Bravo  with  spirits,  and  chuckled 
heartily  as  he  saw  him  so  much  disposed  to  drink  freely,  for 
this  was  making  assurance  doubly  sure  of  the  success  of  the 
plot,  which  he  knew  was  to  be  carried  into  effect  that  night. 

He  rubbed  his  fingers  with  glee  at  the  thought  of  the  coin 
they  were  soon  to  be  counting,  for  he  was  of  course  to  go 
shares  in  the  plunder.  Indeed,  the  avarice  of  the  traitor  be 
came  so  thoroughly  roused  by  the  thought  of  certain  success 
to  all  his  schemes,  that  he  began  to  think  of  the  many  "  slips 
betwixt  the  cup  and  the  lips,"  and  to  remember  that 
Agatone's  banditti  had  never  been  remarkable  for*  good 
faith,  and  that  it  would  be  the  surest  course  for  him  to  be  on 
the  ground  in  person  when  the  money  was  seized,  and  attend 
to  securing  his  share ;  so  that  his  heart  suddenly  overflowed 
with  courtesy,  and,  mounting  his  horse,  he  insisted  upon 
having  the  honour  of  accompanying  the  Bravo  the  first  day's 
journey  on  his  return.  The  Bravo,  seeming  to  be  thoroughly 
mollified  by  the  generous  liquor,  heartily  responded  to  the 
politeness. 

So  off  they  started,  merry  as  a  wedding  party,  the  doomed 
Bravo  and  Alvarez  more  boisterously  jovial  than  any  of 
them,  and  taking  great  pains  to  make  the  money-bags  con 
spicuous,  "for  the  benefit" — as  the  apparently  half-drunken 
Bravo  swaggered — "  of  the  spying  whelps  of  that  wolf-cur 


84  GONZALEZE  AGAIN;   OR, 

Agatone,  that  are  sneaking  along  after  us  through  that  line 
of  timber !" 

As  he  said  this,  he  pointed  directly  to  where  Don  Jose 
knew  the  spies  of  the  banditti  were  hid.  He  was  somewhat 
startled  at  this  for  an  instant;  but  the  Bravo  was  so  evi 
dently  under  the  influence  of  the  nouya,  that  he  forgot  it 
directly,  supposing  that  it  was  an  accident  that  he  pointed  so 
truly,  and  merely  such  a  boast  as  was  natural  for  a  half- 
intoxicated  man. 

It  seemed  to  Don  Jose  that  his  victims  were  perfectly  in 
fatuated,  for  during  the  whole  day  the  Bravo  and  Alvarez 
did  not  permit  the  carouse  to  flag ;  and  in  this  they  found  an 
able  coadjutor  in  Juan,  for  the  knave  seemed  as  thirsty  as  a 
sand-bank.  We  should  mention,  by  the  way,  that  it  is  an 
almost  invariable  habit  on  this  frontier,  particularly  when 
Americans  are  of  the  party,  to  spend  the  first  night  in  camp 
in  a  carouse,  when  a  long  or  perilous  expedition  is  under 
taken  ;  so  that  all  this  conduct  of  the  Bravo,  however  stupid 
and  reckless  it  might  seem,  was  in  perfect  keeping  with 
usage. 

They  camped  at  night  on  a  spot  designated  by  Don  Jose 
as  most  admirably  adapted  for  the  purpose.  The  Bravo  ap 
peared  to  place  unbounded  confidence  in  the  judgment  of  the 
courteous  ranchero,  and  agreed  to  his  selection  without  hesi 
tation.  The  spot  was  most  excellently  well  chosen  for  a 
night  surprise.  It  was  a  small  open  space  on  the  bank  of  a 
stream,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  dense  thicket.  The 
Bravo  was  not  so  far  gone  that  he  did  not  take  wonderfully 
good  care  of  the  black  steed ;  and  Alvarez  managed,  with  all 
his  staggering,  to  secure  the  pack  of  mules,  and  one  or  two 
horses,  remarkably  well  under  the  circumstances. 

The  supper  of  dried  beef  and  tortillas  over,  the  Bravo  sud 
denly  grew  excessively  cautious,  and  would  not  permit  a  fire 
to  be  built,  for  fear,  he  said — 

"  The  blaze  or  smoke  might  betray  us  to  Agatone's  fel- 


THE   BRAVO'S   STRATAGEM.  85 

lows;  for,"  he  continued,  with  a  loud  laugh,  "I  rather  think 
I've  thrown  the  cowardly  sheep-thieves  off  the  trail  this 
time." 

Don  Jose  assented  most  heartily  to  this,  though  he  laughed 
in  his  sleeve  as  he  said  to  himself — 

"  The  drunken  fool !  a  blind  man  couldn't  miss  the  trail 
he's  made,  even  if  I  hadn't  seen  the  spies  following  us  all 
day !" 

The  drinking  now  commenced  again,  and  it  was  soon  an 
nounced  that  the  gourds  had  been  emptied.  The  fellows, 
who  had  become  very  drunk  and  insolent,  were  clamorous 
for  more.  The  Bravo,  at  last,  and  seemingly  with  great  re 
luctance,  brought  a  special  private  bottle  of  his  own,  that, 
he  said,  was  filled  with  choice  brandy,  which  he  had  obtained 
at  Bahai,  and  brought  along  for  contingencies. 

Don  Jose,  who  had  been  very  wary,  and  had  drunk  nothing 
heretofore,  thought  he  might  certainly  now  indulge  himself 
a  little,  as  matters  were  in  such  glorious  train  ;  so  he  took  a 
Btiff  draught  of  the  Bravo's  superfine  brandy,  and,  passing 
the  bottle  round,  it  was  very  soon  emptied. 

One  of  the  Mexicans  shouted,  laughingly,  that  Juan  was 
shirking,  and  didn't  drink  his ;  but  Juan  played  his  swallow 
so  vehemently,  that  the  fellow  jerked  the  bottle  out  of  his 
hand,  and  drank  himself,  but  was  too  much  stupefied  to  no 
tice  that  Juan  had  not  lessened  it  a  drop. 

In  a  very  few  minutes  after  this,  each  man  had  thrown 
himself  back  with  his  head  upon  his  saddle  for  a  pillow,  and 
seemed  to  be  sleeping  soundly.  Don  Jose  had  followed  the 
example  of  the  rest,  so  far  as  position  was  concerned,  but 
had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  going  to  sleep.  He  lay  thinking 
over  the  occurrences  of  the  day ;  every  thing  had  worked 
right ;  it  was  impossible  the  Bravo  could  have  any  suspicion, 
for  all  his  Mexicans  had  been  bribed ;  and  even  supposing 
they  had  only  pretended  to  be  so,  he  had  watched  them 


86  GONZALEZE   AGAIN;    OR, 

closely  since  daybreak,  and  it  was  impossible  that  any  inti 
mation  of  the  plot  could  have  been  conveyed  by  them  to  the 
Bravo  without  his  witnessing  it,  though  it  had  struck  his 
crafty  mind  as  singular  that  the  Bravo  should  be  so  reck 
less  as  to  get  drunk  when  he  knew  he  was  surrounded  by 
deadly  enemies,  yet  it  seemed  so  evident  that  he  really  was 
so,  that  his  suspicions  were  entirely  lulled. 

He  felt  an  unaccountable  propensity  for  sleeping,  which 
he  could  not  overcome,  and,  consoling  himself  with  the  re 
flection  that  as  his  friends  were  not  to  come  till  daybreak, 
there  was  plenty  of  time  to  take  a  short  nap,  he  gave  way 
to  the  invincible  inclination,  intending  to  wake  again  in  an 
hour  or  so. 

A  profound  silence  now  reigned  over  the  camp  and  the 
still  snoring  figures  for  an  hour  or  so,  and  the  wolves — for 
there  was  no  sentinel  out — were  sneaking  round  the  death 
like  sleepers,  and  smelling  cautiously  at  their  noses  to  see  if 
they  were  yet  breathing ;  but  when  one  of  them  happened 
to  try  this  experiment  on  the  Bravo,  it  suddenly  bounded 
wildly  off,  shaking  its  head.  The  Bravo  rose  quickly,  and 
gazed  after  it  as  it  dashed  through  the  moonlight,  at  every 
leap  clawing  with  its  fore-paw  at  the  stump  of  an  ear  that 
had  been  sliced  off  by  his  bowie. 

He  turned  with  a  sardonic  grin,  and  muttered,  "  Ah 
ha  !  my  fine  fellow,  you  will  not  be  the  only  one  that  is  bitten 
to-night!"  Alvarez  and  Juan  were  standing  erect  and  wide 
awake  by  his  side. 

"Come,  boys,  let's  be  quick  !" 

They  soon  had  the  money  upon  the  pack-saddles,  and  their 
horses  equipped,  all  but  saddling  the  steed  of  the  Bravo. 

"  Shoot  the  man  with  his  head  on  the  silver-mounted  saddle, 
is  it?"  he  chuckled,  as  he  took  up  the  rich  saddle  his  own 
head  had  been  resting  upon,  and  replaced  the  saddle  which 
Juan  had  softly  taken  from  under  the  head  of  Don  Jose, 
with  it. 


THE   BRAVO'S    STRATAGEM.  87 

"  But  that  the  joke  is  too  good  to  lose,  I  couldn't  afford  to 
leave  my  fine  saddle,  and  forego  the  pleasure  of  splitting  the 
rascal's  gizzard  myself !" 

He  laughed  as  he  threw  the  saddle  of  Don  Jose  upon  the 
"black,"  and  leaped  into  it. 

"Keep  close  under  the  bank,  boys,  and  hurry  !"  he  said, 
as  they  started  the  pack-mules,  with  their  precious  freight, 
down  the  hill  into  the  bed  of  the  stream  on  which  they  were 
camped. 

"  Stop !  stop  !"  said  Alvarez,  as  they  got  into  the  water, 
"  we  have  forgotten  my  two  men  who  stood  by  me  so  faith 
fully  !  Wo  must  not  leave  them  to  be  shot,  when  the  fellows 
find  out  the  trick,  for  revenge  !" 

"  Go  back,  then,"  said  the  Bravo,  carelessly,  "  and  drag 
them  by  the  heels  into  the  thicket,  and  hide  them ;  you 
needn't  be  afraid  they  will  wake,  for  they  took  a  heavy  dose 
of  that  superfine  brandy  of  mine  !" 

Alvarez  obeyed,  and  said,  when  he  and  Juan  returned, 
after  an  absence  of  a  few  minutes — 

"  I've  hid  'em  where  they'll  be  out  of  harm's  way  when 
they  wake !" 

"  That's  more  than  those  jolly  i  yellow  bellies'  will  ever  do  ! 
Come,  let's  be  off!"  said  the  Bravo. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  of  the  misty  North  to  realize  the 
clear  brilliancy  of  moonlight  on  the  elevated  prairies  of 
Western  Texas. 

The  atmosphere  is  so  wonderfully  lucid  and  dry,  that  all 
our  preconceptions  of  distance  are  annihilated.  A  deer,  a 
tree,  or  any  object,  is  as  distinctly  defined  on  the  retina,  a 
half-mile  off,  as  it  would  be  in  our  medium  at  eighty  paces. 
The  broad  radiant  face  of  a  full  moon  hung  almost,  it 
seemed,  in  reach  of  the  tree  tops,  pouring  such  floods  of  mel 
low  light  upon  the  scene,  as  brought  in  perfect  relief  evea 
the  thin  fibres  of  the  grass,  the  white  thorns  of  the  broad- 
leafed  cactus,  and  the  slim  stems  of  the  frail  flowers. 


88  GONZALEZE  AGAIN;    OR, 

Faint  pencillings  of  a  stronger  light  were  just  beginning 
to  struggle  dimly  through  the  forest-shaded  rim  of  the 
eastern  horizon,  when  a  party  of  about  sixty  men  might  have 
been  seen,  slowly  and  cautiously  creeping  towards  the  camp, 
on  the  side  opposite  to  that  on  which  the  Bravo  and  his 
friends  had  left  it. 

These  men  were  evidently  Mexicans,  as  could  be  seen  from 
the  broad-brimmed,  sugar-loaf  sombreros,  which  shaded  their 
tawny  and  moustached  faces;  and  as  they  stooped  and 
crawled,  and  skulked  among  the  bushes,  their  small  black 
eyes  gleaming  with  a  strong  animal  light,  they  looked  the 
very  ideal  of  cowardly  and  traitorous  assassination.  They 
soon  reached  a  point  from  which  the  sleeping  figures  were 
discernible.  They  raised  themselves  quietly  amongst  the 
bushes,  and  looking  over  them,  could  clearly  distinguish  the 
group. 

"How!"  whispered  the  man  nearest  the  lieutenant,  whose 
quick  eye  had  detected  that  all  were  not  there  who  had  made 
up  the  party  during  the  day. 

"  How !  they  are  not  all  there  !     Where  are  the  rest  ?" 

"All  there,"  said  the  lieutenant,  "that  are  to  be  shot! 
The  rest  are  in  the  bushes,  out  of  the  way.  See !  there  is 
the  silver-mounted  saddle !" 

"Remember,  men,"  said  he,  elevating  his  voice  as  he 
turned  to  his  company,  while  his  finger  pointed  at  Don  Jose, 
"  you  are  to  shoot  all  !  but  be  sure  you  shoot  the  man  with 
his  head  on  the  silver-mounted  saddle  !  Fire  !" 

There  was  the  long,  rolling  fire  of  the  platoon,  and  they 
all  sprang  forward. 

"  Garracho !  we  have  killed  Don  Jose,  and  the  Bravo  and 
the  money  are  gone !"  roared  the  lieutenant. 

"  There's  nothing  here  but  the  filthy  .carcasses  of  those 
curs  of  Bahai  for  our  pains  !" 

Two  nights  after  these  occurrences,  the  young  Americans 
of  Bahai  met  for  a  grand  carouse,  in  honour  of  the  safe  re- 


THE   BRAVO'S   STRATAGEM.  89 

turn  of  the  Bravo  with  the  money  of  Navarro.  The  Bravo 
had  just  finished  the  relation  of  the  incidents  we  have  nar 
rated  up  to  the  time  of  his  leaving  the  camp,  and  the  hearty 
bursts  of  laughter  which  had  followed  the  Bravo's  affectionate 
leave-taking,  of  "  Pleasant  dreams  to  the  honest  Don  Jose !" 
had  somewhat  subsided,  when  Hays  remarked — 

"  But,  Bravo,  I  don't  understand  how  you  have  managed 
to  make  so  useful  and  faithful  a  servant  out  of  that  notorious 
drunkard,  thief,  and  villain — Juan  !" 

"  Oh  !  the  simplest  thing  in  the  world  !  Even  a  Mexican 
is  capable  of  gratitude !  Juan  is  not  the  fellow's  name ! 
Have  you  forgotten  that  famous  knave,  Gonzaleze,  you  ordered 
to  be  shot  one  morning,  about  two  years  ago,  for  shooting 
Littell  and  stealing  your  favourite  sorrel,  and  whose  life  I 
took  a  fancy  to  save,  because  he  made  an  impudent  face  at 
us,  while  we  were  levelling  our  guns  to  fire  at  him  ?" 

"Yes.     Is  it  possible  this  is  the  same  ?" 

"  This  is  Gonzaleze,  and  he's  given  his  soul  to  me  I  took 
the  other  four  along  for  the  express  purpose  of  getting  them 
killed.  As  they  are  out  of  the  way  now,  may  be  my  black 
horse  will  be  safe.  I  knew  I  should  not  be  able  to  keep  him 
three  weeks  while  those  thieving  scoundrels  were  alive !" 

"  Good !  Bravo,  you  deserve  a  vote  of  thanks  from  us 
all.  Under  the  shadow  of  your  black  steed,  our  horses  will 
now  be  safe !" 

The  vote  of  thanks  was  formally  drawn  up  and  presented ; 
and  along  with  it  came  a  splendid  silver-mounted  saddle, 
that  did  honour  to  the  glossy  back  of  even  "  the  coal-black 
steed." 

H2 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 


ADAM  BAKEK,  THE  RENEGADE. 


THE  mania  for  travel  and  adventure  has  always  been  with 
me  unconquerable.  I  sometimes  think  that  there  are  men 
in  the  world  born  with  quicksilver  in  their  bones  where  tho 
marrow  ought  to  be — who  cannot  be  still — one  incessant 
fever  of  restlessness  burning  to  the  core,  and  only  endurable 
under  the  diversion  of  a  stronger  excitement  in  perilous 
action — and  that  I  must  be  one  of  these  unfortunates.  For, 
possessed  by  the  mobility  of  the  quicksilver,  the  "  spirit  of 
unrest,"  or  some  other  "blue  spirit  or  gray,"  of  vagabond  pro 
pensities,  I  have  done  little  else  than  rove  all  my  life  long. 

You  may  well  conjecture  that  this  errant  humour  has  got 
me  into  not  a  few  scrapes,  and  thrown  me  into  some  singular 
juxtapositions;  and  that  these  "accidents,"  if  you  choose  to 
call  them  so,  have  made  to  me  some  strange  revelations  of 
humanity,  and  proved  to  me,  too,  that  all  its  singular  phases 
are  not  confined  to  cities,  called  "  the  great  hot-beds  of  dis 
torted  vice." 

No — out  on  the  frontiers  of  civilization  is  the  soil  for 
genuine  monstrosities ;  there  they  grow,  like  the  rank  vines 
or  the  bottom  cotton  woods, 

"  And  nothing  know 
Of  stipulations,  duties,  reverences," 

to  "  cabin  and  crib"  their  legitimate  proportions.  Tall  and 
huge  they  grow  in  that  rank  alluvion  of  license — ill  birds 
nestle  in  their  boughs,  and  under  their  thick  shadows  grow 

93 


94  ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

deadly  plants  where  reptiles  suck  their  poison,  and  all  the 
air  is  mortal  round  them ;  and  there — the  daughters  of  the 
free  winds  and  the  sun,  with  glorious  colours  on  them,  dis 
tilled  in  dew-drops  from  the  sky  into  their  warm  veins- 
grow  gentle  flowers  that  will  be  fair,  and  smile  in  fragrance, 
for  all  the  deadly  breaths  about  them ! 

Toward  the  conclusion  of  very  extended  peregrinations 
which  had  embraced  the  wildest  portions  of  Northern  Mexico 
and  Western  Texas,  I  found  myself  approaching  the  outskirts 
of  settlement  on  the  upper  Brazos.  I  had  been  thoroughly 
starved  on  "jerked  beef"  for  a  month  or  so,  and  as  I  came 
in  sight  of  a  large  plantation  on  the  edge  of  the  prairie,  the 
nasals  of  my  imagination  were  busy  enough  snuffing  hot 
coffee  and  pig  on  the  inodorous  winds. 

There  is  the  dim  white  sheen  resting  upon  the  dark  line 
of  the  forest,  which  lies  like  a  huge  shadowy  snake  stretching 
its  winding  length  across  the  wide  prairie.  That  white  shim 
mer  is  the  play  of  the  sunlight  upon  the  gable — that  thin, 
blue  column,  too ;  ah,  who  does  not  know  the  honest  curl  of 
a  chimney  smoke  ?  All  the  pleasant  odours  from  the  family 
boil  and  roast  wasted,  for  there  is  not  even  the  man  o'  the 
moon  above  there  in  the  empty  arch  to  inhale  it ! 

Come,  my  good  steed,  we'll  make  a  run  the  rest  of  the 
way.  Gramercy  !  but  it's  a  thumping  big  plantation  ! 
Here  we  are,  in  the  lane  at  last.  Here's  the  gate  !  Hilloa  ! 
Frame  house,  long  and  low — piazza  in  front — wide  passage 
through  the  middle — as  I  live !  we  can  see  the  long  dinner- 
table — they  have  just  laid  the  cloth  and  knives  and  forks ! 
Halloo!  "Yes,  sir!"  There  he  comes  down  the  steps — 
man  of  the  house,  I  suppose — a  very  slight,  delicate-looking 
body  for  a  frontier's  man. 

"  How  do  you  do,  sir  ?  Get  down  !  Our  landlord  is  not 
at  home — no  matter,  though — these  Cherokee  planters  are 
all  hospitable.  Leave  your  horse  there — we'll  have  him 
taken  care  of.  Any  news?" 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.  95 

*'  .Nothing  special !  I  am  just  across  from  Bexar — heard 
of  the  Camanches  doing  some  of  their  old  jobs — they  speared 
two  Mexicans  just  out  of  town  !" 

"Ha!  ha!  ha!  they  do  that  trick  beautifully— but  sit 
down — dinner  will  be  ready  directly,  and  I  see  yonder's 
Sewene  returning.  He's  just  coming  in  from  camp — the  four 
or  five  neighbours  he  has  within  twenty  miles  have  all  come 
together  for  a  mustang  drive — they've  been  at  it  four  days, 
and  I  suppose  the  herd  are  pretty  well  run  down  by  this 
time.  You  were  lost  when  you  stumbled  here,  warnt  you?" 

"  Yes,  rather !  I  only  had  an  indefinite  idea  that  I  was 
approaching  settlements,  but  what  the  character  of  them  was 
I  had  no  conception.  This  is  the  plantation  of  a  Cherokee, 
you  mentioned — that's  a  new  idea  to  me." 

"  Oh,  some  of  these  Cherokees  are  very  wealthy.  Sewene 
inherited  a  large  fortune  in  Georgia,  and  when  the  old  cock 
happened  to  get  killed  off  in  a  fray  with  some  white  men,  he 
sold  out  every  thing,  put  the  money  in  his  pocket,  and  like  a 
wise  man  picked  the  two  fellows  off  from  i  the  bush'  and 
came  to  Texas,  married  a  white  woman,  brought  her  off  here, 
and  settled  this  plantation.  Ha !  Sewene  !  back  already  ? 
Got  the  wire-edge  off  of  them  fellows  yet — willing  to  be  cul 
tivated — to  listen  to  reason  ?" 

"  Yah  !  yah  !  they  be  dam  draggle-tail — git  lazy — m 
switch  flies  so  quick  now." 

"  A  stranger,  Sewene  !  across  from  Bexar — lost — stopped 
awhile  to  rest." 

"  Ver'  good  !  Stay — see  mustang — this  evenin'  make  'em 
go — fifteen — to  pen." 

With  a  careless  shake  of  the  hand  he  passed  on  into  the 
house.  He  was  a  tall,  portly  man,  with  a  handsome  Eoman 
face,  and  a  complexion  rather  a  dark,  healthy  olive  than 
copper,  showing  the  presence  of  a  foreign  tinge — the  French 
— which  language  he  spoke  with  some  elegance,  though  he 
made  a  lame  sort  of  English. 


96  ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

The  little  man  who  first  received  me,  and  who  seemed  to 
De  a  great  fidget,  continued  walking  with  a  rapid,  restless 
step  to  and  fro  before  me,  talking  with  wonderful  volubility 
about  any  thing  and  every  thing — jerking  and  twitching 
with  a  sort  of  convulsive  action  of  legs,  arms,  fingers,  and 
muscles  of  the  face  at  each  articulation.  His  figure  and  step 
had  in  them  an  elasticity  which  left  one  altogether  in  doubt 
what  might  not  be  the  amount  of  activity  and  endurance 
they  indicated.  His  tread  had  the  quick,  soft  rebound  of 
a  wild-cat's,  and  his  limbs,  though  small,  were  wonderfully 
lithe  and  supple :  his  features,  except  his  mouth,  were  sharp 
and  small,  perhaps  owing  to  their  great  emaciation,  which 
was  so  peculiar  that,  with  the  exceeding  fineness  of  texture 
in  his  skin,  the  effect  was  produced  of  exhibiting  as  under  a 
transparency  the  minutest  play  of  the  smallest  tendon  and 
muscle  in  the  whole  bust,  as  far  as  it  was  exposed  by  tho 
open  collar. 

His  forehead  was  very  white  and  broad,  and  finely  deve 
loped,  and  upon  it  fell  in  careless  and  wavy  clusters,  that 
seemed  to  cling  there  from  clammy  damps,  light  chestnut 
hair  of  almost  gossamer  texture,  and  very  thin :  his  mouth 
was  wide,  with  thin,  colourless  lips,  and  a  constant  ripple 
about  the  corners  even  when  closed,  which  rendered  it  im 
possible  to  catch  the  expression,  for  all  expressions  were 
there  in  one  moment ;  his  eyes  were  the  most  peculiar  fea 
ture — they  were  far  apart  and  very  protruded — they  were 
pale  blue,  and  there  seemed  to  be  always  a  tear  ready  to 
brim  over  the  lids. 

His  voice  was  soft  and  low.  The  only  particular  I  could 
detect  in  his  manner  that  I  did  not  fancy,  was  its  excessive 
uncertainty,  never  dwelling  on  one  thing  long,  but  seeming 
to  rush  into  all  themes  with  equal  enthusiasm,  and  leaving 
them  all  with  equal  coldness. 

I  pass  over  the  dinner,  welcome  as  it  was.  As  soon  as  I 
had  time  to  look  up  from  my  plate,  I  glanced  round  upon 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.  97 

the  company  at  table ;  there  were  six  or  eight — among  them 
a  tall,  slender  personage,  with  florid  complexion,  curly  hair, 
red  whiskers,  and  a  man-of-the-world  air  about  him ;  some 
thing  that  indicated  polish  in  the  very  manner  of  lifting  a 
plate.  I  heard  him  addressed  by  the  pale  little  man,  whom' 
he  called  Williams,  as  Morgan.  They  seemed  to  be  on  very 
familiar  terms.  Our  hostess  was  a  fat,  ruddy,  and  not  un 
handsome  matron,  with  a  large,  bold,  black  eye. 

But  what  made  me  forget  appetite,  dinner,  and  every  thing 
else — fortunately  she  had  glided  in  without  my  observing  her 
before — was  a  young  girl  at  the  side  of  the  matron,  of  almost 
startling  beauty.  She  was  evidently  a  daughter  of  the  two 
races — of  Sewene  and  his  American  wife — but  to  tell  how 
the  asperities  of  both  were  softened  into  the  exquisite  finish, 
the  wild  graceful  tenderness  of  her  ensemble,  is  more  than  I 
shall  venture  upon  at  once. 

It  is  enough  for  you  to  know  that  splendid  profile — the 
vaulting  arch  of  that  bold  forehead — just  a  summer  evening's 
tinge  of  orange  on  it,  enough  to  make  it  warm  under  the 
intense  black  of  that  glossy  mass  of  hair — then  the  free  curve 
of  that  classic  nose,  and  the  curl  of  the  upper  lip,  that,  with 
a  saucy  coyness,  brooded  over  the  rich  swell  of  its  ambitious 
twin — and  then  the  burning  ebon  depths  of  those  large  eyes 
— the  shadow  of  the  long,  dark  lashes  seemed  to  be  over 
them  in  mercy — for  what  the  full  blaze  thereof  might  be, 
imagination  could  not  compass  ;  then  her  neck  was  long, 
with  a  set  like  a  listening  fawn's. 

Oh !  she  was  as  beautiful  as  day,  with  the  delicate  tinge 
of  the  mingled  blood  flushing  almost  into  chestnut  on  her 
cheek,  as  she  caught  the  burning  joy  and  wonder  of  my  gaze 
fixed  upon  her.  Heavens  !  what  a  revelation  in  this  rude 
land.  My  blood  was  fairly  burning — my  fork  and  knife  had 
dropped  upon  my  just  replenished  plate — my  third  cup  of 
coffee  was  half  out,  but  appetite  was  gone. 

I  saw  she  had  noticed  and  was  confused  by  the  intensity 


98  ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

of  my  look,  which  brought  me  to  my  senses ;  and,  sipping 
away  with  my  tea-spoon  through  the  rest  of  the  meal,  I  had 
formed  the  doughty  resolution,  by  the  time  it  was  over,  that 
if  no  other  excuse  offered  for  my  stay  the  next  day,  my  horse 
"should  fall  suddenly  lame  ! 

And  what  added  to  the  fixedness  of  this  resolve,  was  a 
something  like  assiduity  in  the  table  courtesies  of  Morgan.  I 
found  myself  cursing  his  infernal  suavity  from  between  my 
teeth,  wondering  what  right  he  had  to  take  such  airs.  I 
hated  the  man  forthwith,  and  the  more  heartily  that  I  could 
not  help  acknowledging  there  was  a  "  winning  way"  about 
him,  and  that  she  recognised  it,  too,  with  a  subdued  grace 
that  was  perfectly  bewitching. 

I  was  not  a  little  enraged,  when  the  horses  were  brought 
out  for  a  ride  over  to  the  mustang  drive,  to  find  that  Morgan 
did  not  go.  But  I  could  find  no  excuse  for  staying — go  I 
must !  Sewene  had  ordered  a  horse  of  his  own  to  be  brought 
out  for  me,  so  to  get  rid  of  my  impatience  I  proposed  that 
we  should  try  the  gait  of  his  horse  in  a  canter. 

This  suited  all  parties,  so  away  we  went,  Williams  keeping 
alongside  of  me,  seeming  determined  to  avail  himself  of  a 
new  hearer,  until  finding  that  listen  I  must,  and  warmed, 
too,  by  the  motion  of  the  animal,  I  found  myself  strangely 
interested  in  this  man.  A  more  remarkable  command  of 
language  I  never  heard,  but  it  was  accompanied  by  a  cold 
recklessness  of  satire,  glancing  equally  over  all  things,  icy 
always  and  always  pitiless.  He  could  be  eloquent  in  enun 
ciating  generous  thought,  and  laugh  at  the  interest  he  had 
excited. 

Our  brisk  gait  soon  brought  us  to  the  camp,  where  we 
found  three  white  men  lying  on  the  grass,  their  horses  saddled 
near  them,  and  evidently  waiting  for  us.  They  received  us 
with  a  blunt  cordiality,  told  us  that  the  rest  of  the  party 
were  in  pursuit  of  the  mustangs,  and  they  thought  them  tired 
enough  by  this  time  to  try  them  at  the  pens. 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  REXEGADE.  99 

On  inquiry  I  found  that  the  plan  had  been  for  half  the 
party,  at  a  time,  to  follow  the  mustangs  just  near  enough  to 
keep  them  always  in  motion,  and  give  them  no  opportunity 
for  stopping  to  drink  or  graze,  night  or  day.  It  is  a  silly 
instinct  of  the  animals  to  keep  within  their  habitual  range, 
which  is  generally  some  ten  or  fifteen  miles  in  circumference, 
and  pursue  them  as  long  as  you  may,  they  will  still  be  found 
near  the  same  place  once  or  twice  in  the  twenty-four  hours. 

Taking  advantage  of  one  of  these  places  for  a  camp,  the 
hunters  in  pursuit,  when  they  or  their  horses  become  fatigued, 
give  warning  by  a  horn  as  they  approach  to  the  relay,  who 
are  thoroughly  rested  and  fresh,  and  these  catch  up  their 
horses  and  put  in  to  the  relief  of  their  friends,  who  in  turn 
take  possession  of  their  camp  and  refreshments.  In  this  way 
a  party  of  six  or  eight  men  will  keep  the  poor  mustangs 
travelling  incessantly  four  or  five  days  without  food  or  water, 
until  they  are  thoroughly  jaded  and  worn  out. 

The  hunters  have  previously  prepared  the  pen  somewhere 
in  the  range,  in  this  way  : — They  select  a  piece  of  prairie 
ground,  bordered  on  one  side  by  a  dense,  unbroken  thicket — 
for  mustangs  have  an  invincible  horror  of  the  bush,  and 
cannot  be  forced  to  take  it  unless  there  is  an  opening  which 
they  can  see  through.  This  line  of  thicket  is  to  serve  for 
one  wing  of  the  pen ;  the  other,  stretching  out  a  mile  into 
the  prairie  at  a  right  angle,  is  made  of  posts  driven  into  the 
ground.  These  posts  are  eight  or  ten  feet  apart,  with  a 
stiff  bush  woven  into  the  intervals  to  the  height  of  six  or 
eight  feet. 

The  wing  being  finished,  the  pen  is  now  made  at  the  point 
where  the  two  lines  meet ;  the  entrance  is  about  ten  feet  wide 
and  the  same  height,  with  a  sliding  gate,  over  which  a  man 
is  placed  to  let  it  down.  The  pen  itself  is  an  area  of  several 
hundred  yards,  fenced  in  with  a  strong  stockading  of  heavy 
posts.  When  the  mustangs  are  to  some  degree  subdued  by 
fatigue  and  the  starving  process,  the  hunters  make  a  general 


100          ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

rally  of  all  the  forces  they  can  muster,  and  a  rush  is  made  to 
hurry  them  down  the  wings  arid  through  the  gate. 

This  was  the  work  we  had  before  us.  We  were  promptly 
under  way,  and  a  brisk  gallop  across  the  prairie  soon  brought 
us  within  hearing  of  the  division  in  pursuit.  We  let  our 
horses  out  to  full  speed,  and  soon  closed  with  them.  They 
were  going  at  a  slow  canter,  keeping  within  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  of  the  little  drove  of  mustangs,  which  evidently 
dragged  themselves  along  at  a  very  heavy  gait. 

In  the  few  rapid  words  which  passed,  I  understood  that 
we  were  about  half  a  mile  from  the  opening  of  the  wings, 
and  that  the  crisis  was  close  at  hand.  We  were  directed  to 
form  in  line  about  a  hundred  yards  from  each  other,  to  gra 
dually  increase  our  pace  as  we  neared  them,  and  when  the 
mustangs  were  once  fairly  in,  to  "rush"  the  animals  at  the 
gate  before  they  had  time  to  suspect  the  danger. 

This  was  all  done  very  successfully,  and  now  commenced 
the  barbarous  process  of  breaking  the  animals  to  the  rope. 
This  was  positively  revolting.  A  Mexican,  (who  always 
makes  one  on  such  hunts,)  after  the  gate  had  been  firmly 
secured,  and  we  had  stationed  ourselves  there  to  prevent  the 
horses  making  a  rush  at  it,  jumped  down  into  the  pen,  his 
coiled  lariat  in  hand,  and  following  at  a  run  the  half-frantic 
creatures  round  the  pen,  threw  the  noose  at  one  of  them.  It 
fell  round  its  neck,  and  in  an  instant  the  wretched  animal 
was  dragged  by  the  neck  out  of  the  huddled  and  hurrying 
crowd  of  its  fellows,  and  literally  choked  down. 

The  instant  it  was  fairly  stretched,  the  Mexican  jumped 
with  his  feet  upon  its  free  and  glossy  neck,  and  held  it  thus 
ignominiously  in  the  dust,  while  others  of  the  party  tied  the 
feet  together.  It  was  painful  to  me  to  see  that  silken  coat 
all  defaced,  those  strong,  graceful  limbs  tethered,  and  the 
beautiful  animal  that  was  but  a  little  while  since  so  gay  and 
proud  and  buoyant,  now  trampled  and  bound  by  these  coarso 
men,  to  be  made  a  slave  for  ever. 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.  101 

One  after  another  they  were  all  subjected  to  this  treat 
ment,  until  the  whole  fifteen  were  stretched  upon  their  sides, 
floundering  and  struggling  to  get  free ;  then,  after  tying  the 
other  end  of  the  stout  lariat  on  their  necks  to  posts  set  in 
the  open  space  of  the  pen,  they  let  up  four  at  a  time,  which, 
as  soon  as  they  felt  themselves  on  their  feet  again,  would 
dash  off  at  full  speed,  till  reaching  the  end  of  the  rope,  they 
would  be  brought  up  on  their  backs.  They  sometimes  break 
their  necks  in  this  way. 

After  tremendous  efforts  to  break  loose,  during  which  they 
are  choked  to  the  ground  half  a  dozen  times,  they  begin  to 
"get  the  hang  of  the  thing,"  and  to  fear  and  obey  the  rope. 
They  are  then  untied,  let  outside,  and  fastened  to  stakes 
driven  into  the  ground  very  deep,  while  the  others  are  let  up 
in  their  turn. 

Until  now  there  had  been  so  much  excitement  and  bustle 
that  no  man  had  any  time  to  notice  his  neighbour ;  but  now 
we  were  gathered  into  little  groups,  looking  at  the  captured 
animals — Williams,  the  Cherokee  and  myself  standing  some 
what  apart,  admiring  a  beautiful  horse  which  our  host  had 
selected  for  himself,  when  our  attention  was  attracted  by  the 
loud,  angry  voice  of  a  man. 

On  turning,  I  instantly  recognised  him — a  swarthy,  pow 
erful  fellow,  who  was  leading  the  party  in  pursuit  of  the 
mustangs — I  remembered  having  observed  him  exhibit  great 
excitement  when  our  party  joined  them,  staring  with  intense 
fierceness  at  Williams,  and  muttering  a  hasty  oath  between 
his  teeth. 

I  turned  to  see  if  Williams  had  noticed  it,  but  he  seeming 
to  be  perfectly  calm,  the  circumstance  had  almost  passed 
from  my  mind  in  the  rapid  action  that  followed ;  but  now  the 
man  and  the  incident  were  instantly  associated  as  I  saw  him 
furious,  with  one  hand  upon  his  belt-pistol,  the  other  pointing 
toward  us,  struggling  to  get  away  from  his  friends,  who 
12 


102          ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

seemed  to  be  remonstrating  with  him.  I  heard  him  shout  at 
the  top  of  his  voice — 

"  It  ip  he  !  the  d d  traitor  !  it  is  he  !  I'll  shoot  him 

like  a  wolf!" 

The  hunters  ran  to  him,  grouping  eagerly  around  him,  and 
for  a  moment  we  could  not  hear  what  they  said. 

These  vehement  words  sent  an  icy  thrill  through  me,  for 
there  was  terrible  meaning  in  them  for  some  of  us.  Was  it 
Williams?  I  looked  round;  his  pale  face  was  livid,  and  in 
an  instant  it  had  undergone  a  remarkable  change :  that 
incessant  muscular  vibration  had  ceased  as  if  struck  by  the 
hand  of  death,  and  his  features  were  cold  and  still  as  marble. 
There  was  not  even  a  quiver  about  his  lips. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  I  said  to  him.- 

He  made  no  answer,  merely  shaking  his  head  and  gazing 
with  a  sort  of  stare  at  the  crowd,  which  now  began  to  advance 
toward  us — the  big  fellow,  whose  name  was  Koach,  still  en 
deavouring  to  break  away  from  the  midst  of  them.  They 
were  all  talking  at  once,  in  angry,  excited  tones,  and  I  could 
only  distinguish  the  words  "guest,"  and  "  Sewene." 

When  they  had  nearly  reached  us,  Roach,  by  a  furious 
effort,  broke  from  his  friends,  and,  springing  forward,  waved 
them  back  with  his  hand,  and  with  a  large  pistol  cocked  and 
presented,  stopped  about  five  paces  in  front  of  Williams. 
His  friends  fell  back,  and  there  was  a  dead  pause. 

I  had  half  drawn  my  pistol,  and  so  had  Sewene,  but  the 
singular  gesture  of  Williams  held  all  in  suspense.  He  simply 
and  deliberately  folded  his  arms  upon  his  breast,  and  drawing 
a  very  long  breath  that  seemed  to  break  a  heavy  trance, 
with  a  quiet  smile  looked  eloquent  inquiry  into  Roach's  eyes. 
The  savage  felt  his  manner,  and  though  his  voice  was  still 
harsh  with  rage,  it  was  not  so  tempestuous  as  I  expectei. 

"  You  are  '  Adam  Baker,'  the  murdering  renegade  !  Deny 
it  if  you  dare  !" 

"I  do  dare." 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.  103 

"  You  lie !"  Roach  screamed — "  you  lie,  you  bloody  villain ! 
would  you  make  me  doubt  my  own  eyes  ?  Did  I  not  see  you 
at  Chihuahua  for  weeks  with  my  comrade  Clark  ?  Ha  !  you 
know  me  now,  don't  you  ?" 

The  man's  rigid  face  had  twitched  slightly  at  this. 

"  Clark  was  murdered  for  his  money,  and  you  did  it,  you 
cowardly  cut-throat !  I  shall  always  believe  you  did  it.  You 
escaped  that  time,  but  I've  got  you  now,  and  you  shall  die 
for  it — yes,  die  like  a  dog  !" 

Roach  raised  his  pistol  again.  Williams,  or  Baker,  still 
in  the  same  position,  smilingly  remarked,  in  a  low,  soft 
voice — 

"  You  call  yourself  a  brave  man,  my  friend,  and  you  are 
six  feet  two  inches  in  height,  and  strong  in  proportion — yet 
you've  got  a  long,  nine-inch  barrel  pistol,  loaded  to  the 
muzzle,  to  blow  into  shivers  a  little  atom  of  a  man  like  me, 
not  stronger  than  a  woman,  and  unarmed  to  boot,  and  all 
because  I  happen  to  look  like  somebody  you  suppose  mur 
dered  your  friend  :  you'd  feel  very  foolish  to  find  you'd 
killed  the  wrong  man ;  it  will  be  cowardly  in  you  to  shoot 
me  unarmed — I  am  not  Baker,  and  you  are  going  to  play  the 
fool !" 

Roach  seemed  to  be  confounded  by  this  cool  speech  for  an 
instant.  He  raised  himself  upon  his  feet,  and  bringing  down 
his  arm  with  a  fierce  imprecation,  exclaimed — 

"You  lie,  you  oily  traitor!  you  sha'n't  escape  me  with 
your  cool  impudence — didn't  we  drink  together  all  the  even 
ing  before  Clark  left  town  with  you  and  never  came  back, 
in  Callistro's  tavern  ?  You  had  been  running  your  horse 
that  day,  and  we  had  all  won  money  and  were  on  a  spree, 
and  you  got  Clark  drunk,  and  took  him  off  and  murdered 
him — ay,  and  this  is  not  the  only  murder  you  have  done.  I 
don't  care  if  you  are  unarmed.  If  you  had  arms,  you  wouldn't 
use  them — you  never  strike  but  in  the  dark.  You  shall  die 


104          ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

here  on  this  ground,  if  the  last  drop  of  my  heart's  blood  pay 
for  it." 

He  levelled  his  pistol  this  time  with  deliberation. 

During  this  scene  we  had  all  gradually  closed  up  round 
them — I  sprang  forward  just  in  time  to  knock  the  weapon 
from  its  deadly  level  before  it  exploded.  I  looked  at  Wil 
liams;  he  was  standing  in  exactly  the  same  position,  the 
blood  slowly  trickling  down  his  bare  white  neck,  but  the 
smile  was  still  upon  his  ghastly  face.  There  had  been  a 
general  rush  to  seize  him,  but  they  all  recoiled  awe-struck 
from  the  singular  being — I  could  stand  it  no  longer.  Sewene 
and  myself,  as  by  one  impulse,  rushed  with  our  weapons  in 
hand  in  front  of  Williams. 

"  Gentlemen,  you  are  going  too  far ;  if  this  man  be  a 
murderer,  he's  already  wounded — give  him  a  fair  trial — he 
denies  that  he  is  Baker." 

"  Sacre  Roach  !"  cried  Sewene,  "  he  no  Baker — my  friend 
— dam — take  that." 

Sewene  fired — Roach  staggered  and  pitched  forward  on 
his  face.  Sewene's  fire  was  instantly  returned,  the  shot 
striking  my  arm  instead  of  him. 

"You  are  all  a  pack  of  fools!"  shouted  Williams,  throwing 
himself  as  quick  as  thought  into  the  midst  of  Roach's  friends, 

and  catching  at  their  pistols.  "  Fools  !  d d  fools  !  You 

are  shooting  at  each  other  because  that  blockhead  made  a 
mistake  !  Are  you  going  to  kill  one  another  because  he  was 
a  jackass  !  I  tell  you  I  am  not  Baker  !  Hold  !  hold !  listen 
to  common  sense  a  moment.  The  fellow  got  just  what  he 
deserved  ;  he  shot  me  unarmed,  and  an  inoffensive  stranger, 
because  he  took  a  stupid  fancy  I  was  like  somebody  he  called 
Baker.  Didn't  Sewene,  your  own  neighbour,  tell  you  I  was 
not  he  ?  Do  you  blame  him  for  shooting  the  fellow  who  was 
going  to  murder  a  friend  and  a  guest  ?  And  may  be  he  has 
done  it,  for,  curse  him,  he  hit  me  in  the  neck.  Are  you  men, 
and  would  see  a  man  slaughtered  in  cold  blood,  making  no 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.          105 

resistance  ?  Pretty  Texans,  you  !  Mexicans  might  do  this ! 
I  am  ashamed  of  you  !" 

I  saw  they  were  impressed  by  this  logic,  and  felt  in  an 
instant  that  my  wound  was  but  a  trifle,  though  it  had  para 
lyzed  my  arm  and  prevented  my  returning  the  fire  at  the 
moment.  I  saw,  too,  that  Williams's  policy  was  the  only 
one,  for  they  were  double  our  number,  and  well  armed ;  and 
following  it  up,  I  said,  holding  up  my  bleeding  arm — 

"  You  see  one  of  your  shot  has  struck  me — I  have  not 
returned  the  fire,  because  you  are  all  crazy  !  Is  there  a  man 
with  a  soul  among  you,  that  would  not  have  done  as  Sewene 
did  ?  Come,  let's  be  at  quits — Roach  got  what  you  know  he 
deserved — he  was  going  to  kill  this  man  in  cold  blood,  who 
may  not  be  Baker;  and  if  he  is,  you'll  find  him  at  Sewene's 
whenever  you  can  prove  his  identity." 

"  Yes,  by  heaven  !  you  will  find  me  there  for  the  next  two 
weeks,  come  when  you  may.  Prove  me  to  be  this  Baker. 
Be  sure  it's  the  dog  that  killed  the  sheep  before  you  hang 
him." 

"Yes,"  said  one  of  the  hunters,  "that's  fair,  boys.  T 
thought  Roach  was  hasty — poor  fellow,  he  was  a  brave  man, 
but  he  always  was  so." 

"  D — n  you!"  said  another  one,  "we'll  hang  you  with  a 
dead  dog  at  your  heels  if  you  should  turn  out  to  be  Baker." 

"  Thank  you  for  your  polite  intentions  !  I  hope  I  shall  be 
able  to  reciprocate  compliments  with  you  some  day  by  our 
selves,  out  on  the  prairie.  Is  the  man  dead?" 

"No." 

"Pity,  Sewene,  you  hadn't  planted  it  better — he  fell  well!" 

"  Look  you !  I  believe  you're  the  devil,  if  you  are  not 
Adam  Baker.  You'd  better  take  yourself  off  from  here — 
you  and  that  young  fellow  there,  and  Sewene — you'd  all 
better  make  tracks." 

"  The  fellow's  advice  is  good,"  said  Baker;  "  come,  Sewene 
— Kentuck,  let's  be  off!" 


106          ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

We  turn  3d  and  were  leaving,  when  the  hunter  who  spoke 
last  shouted  after  us — 

"  Sewene,  look  out  for  yourself  anyhow  !  Roach  has  got 
a  brother,  you  know — and  you,  you  starved  whelp,  who  call 
yourself  Williams,  murder  is  not  the  only  count  we  have 
against  that  man  Baker — he's  a  traitor  to  Texas,  and  wants 
to  sell  our  blood  for  Mexican  gold.  He's  come  in  to  look  at 
the  state  of  the  frontier,  and  report  to  Santa'  Anna.  Tell 
him,  if  he's  a  friend  of  yours,  that  there  are  men  not  far 
from  here  who  do  know  him ;  and  we  mean  to  watch  you, 
my  dear,  night  and  day,  so  that  you  don't  get  away — sleep 
on  how  a  hemp  tie  will  feel — you,  my  young  fellow,  look 
out,  you  are  in  bad  company  !" 

This  was  timely  and  consolatory  advice ;  my  bleeding  arm 
bore  testimony  that  my  chance  association  had  at  least  been 
unfortunate,  and  from  all  I  could  see  ahead,  it  was  likely  to 
be  more  so  now.  But  the  daughter  of  Sewene !  Could  I 
think  of  personal  consequences  with  her  entrancing  beauty 
in  the  question — and  she  in  the  midst  of  such  ruffianly  scenes 
— such  wretches  as  these  around  her  ?  No,  I  rather  blessed 
my  wound — perhaps  her  own  "flower  soft  hands"  would 
dress  it.  I  should  have  an  excuse  for  staying ;  should  be 
near  her  in  the  desperate  scenes  which  I  foresaw  must  follow 
this  day's  work — might  save  her  ! 

During  the  process  of  this  very  prudent  and  sensible  argu 
mentation  with  myself,  we  had  been  advancing  to  where  bur 
horses  were  standing,  and  had  stopped  there  to  examine 
Williams's  wound. 

"It's  a  glancer,"  he  said;  "thanks  to  you,  Kentuck,  the 
rascal  has  only  phlebotomized  me  a  little — haven't  got  much 
of  the  claret  to  spare,  though — tie  my  handkerchief  around 
it — not  quite  so  bad,  that,  as  the  hempen  one  that  loud-talk 
ing  fellow  gave  me,  as  a  Yankee  at  a  country  wedding  gives 
a  piece  of  gingerbread  to  his  gal,  to  dream  upon.  Ha !  ha  ! 
Kind  of  him,  that !  but  let's  go,  or  those  cursed  bears  will 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.  107 

scratch  their  sore  ears  and  snuff  blood  there  until  they  get 
furious  again." 

Sewene  tied  up  my  arm,  and  we  were  on  horseback  and 
off.  We  had  gone  but  a  few  paces  when  the  Mexican,  of 
lariat  memory,  who  had  not  been  seen  since  the  commence 
ment  of  the  affair,  suddenly  stepped  out  of  the  thicket,  and 
caught  the  bridle  of  Williams's  horse. 

With  an  oath  Williams  struck  at  his  hand  and  spurred  his 
horse — the  horse  sprang  violently  forward,  almost  jerking 
the  Mexican  on  his  face,  breaking  his  hold ;  but  the  man  had 
spoken  some  eager  words  in  his  native  tongue  which  I  was 
too  far  ahead  to  understand,  but  which  seemed  to  produce  a 
tremendous  effect  upon  Williams. 

Reining  up  his  horse,  he  wheeled  and  was  instantly  at  the 
side  of  the  Mexican,  and  stooping  from  his  saddle,  close  to 
the  man's  face,  with  intense  eagerness  of  manner,  seemed  to 
be  using  his  utmost  eloquence  in  persuasion ;  he  would  pat 
him  rapidly  on  the  shoulder,  then  point  to  where  his  horse 
was  standing,  then  at  Sewene,  but  the  man  drew  himself 
back  and  shook  his  head  with  an  air  of  stolid  obstinacy. 

Williams,  without  straightening  himself,  suddenly  spurred 
his  horse,  and  with  a  single  plunge,  placed  himself  between 
the  man  and  the  bushes,  and  in  the  same  instant  I  saw  the 
gleam  of  a  long  knife  in  his  hand.  The  Mexican  shrank 
back  cowering — another  quick  gesture — Williams  had  drawn 
a  purse  from  his  pocket,  and  in  trembling  haste  emptied  a 
handful  of  silver  coin  from  it,  and  motioned  it  toward  the 
man,  who  instantly,  with  a  grin  upon  his  face,  jerked  his 
"  sombrero"  from  his  head  and  caught  it  in  the  crown.  The 
chink  of  the  metal  acted  like  a  charm,  and  as  Williams  held 
toward  him  the  handle  of  his  poignard,  which  was  a  silver 
cross,  he  stepped  forward  without  hesitation,  and  making  the 
sign  with  his  finger  on  his  forehead,  kissed  it,  then  turning, 
ran  at  full  speed  toward  his  horse. 

Williams  watched  him  until  he  was  in  the  saddle,  and 


108          ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

coming  in  a  gallop  to  join  us;  he  then  rode  leisurely  to  us, 
his  face  wearing  an  expression  of  devilish  glee,  such  as  I 
never  saw  on  human  countenance  before — still  holding  the 
weapon  in  one  hand,  tossing  the  purse  in  the  air,  and  catch 
ing  it  with  the  other. 

The  Mexican  had  now  closed  up  behind  us — Sewene,  turn 
ing  in  the  saddle,  looked  at  him  inquiringly,  and  said  to 
Williams,  "  He  know  too  much — must  be  took  care.  Yah ! 
yah !  git  him  home !  will  be  safe  as  wolf  neck  in  de  big  steel 
trap." 

"  Yes,  Sewene,  you  know  what's  good  for  his  health :  the 
bush  and  the  river  are  very  close." 

We  were  here  interrupted  by  a  loud  yell  from  the  hunters, 
above  which  I  could  distinguish  "Antone,"  the  name  of  the 
Mexican.  Looking  around,  we  saw  part  of  them  mounting 
"in  hot  haste,"  while  the  others  were  tearing  a  passage 
through  the  bush  fence. 

"  Sewene,  they  smell  the  rat ;  there'll  be  hell  to  play  if 
they  catch  us.  Go  it  for  your  lives,  and  take  the  fence  as 
soon  as  it  gets  low  enough." 

We  were  off  in  an  instant.  The  Mexican  hesitated,  and 
looked  back  timidly.  Williams  reined  back,  with  the  knife 
raised,  and  a  muttered  oath.  The  man's  indecision  was 
cured — he  bent  forward,  plunged  spurs  into  his  horse,  and 
was  at  his  best  speed.  We  were  inside  the  wings,  and  the 
men,  by  breaking  through,  would  get  the  start  of  us  on  the 
direct  route  to  Sewene's  plantation — this  was  the  peril. 

"This  fellow  was  a  servant  of  Roach's,"  shouted  Williams, 
with  a  slight  tremor  of  voice — "they've  just  missed  him. 
They'll  kill  their  horses  to  get  him.  Steady,  there,  Sewene. 
Can  we  clear  it  ?" 

"No." 

"Steady,  then.  Don't  blow  the  horses  till  we  are  over 
the  fence."  He  looked  back — "  Hell !  they've  nearly  got  it 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.          109 

down !  Take  it  any  how,  Sewene  !  It's  a  half  mile  to  the 
end  yet." 

"Sacre!  damn!  yes!" 

He  checked  up  slightly,  and  breasted  his  horse  at  a  part 
of  the  fence  which  his  quick  eye  had  detected  as  lowest, 
His  horse  was  true  and  cleared  it,  taking  off  part  of  the  top 
brush  as  he  went  through.  This  made  it  less  difficult  for  the 
rest  of  us — one  after  the  other  we  followed  him,  Williams 
coming  last — preferring  to  see  the  Mexican  over — and,  from 
a  loud  grunt  the  fellow  gave,  and  blood  I  saw  on  his  shoulder 
afterward,  I  supposed  he  had  pricked  his  courage  for  him ; 
and  never  did  I  see  quirt*  and  spur  plied  with  such  faithful 
earnestness  as  were  those  of  the  poor  wretch  afterward,  for 
he  saw  death  in  the  eye  of  Williams  in  the  event  of  our  being 
hard  pressed. 

The  case  was  urgent  enough  for  all  of  us,  for  on  looking 
up  the  outside  of  the  fence,  I  saw  the  party  just  emerging 
from  it,  and  with  a  fierce  howl,  like  wild  beasts,  make  for 
the  point  of  timber  about  three  miles  off,  which  they  knew 
our  escape  depended  upon  our  reaching  first.  Had  we  been 
compelled  to  go  round  to  the  end  of  the  wing,  there  would 
have  been  no  chance,  but  the  bold  manoeuvre  of  leaping  it 
had  somewhat  equalized  our  distances  from  the  timber. 

All  depended  now  upon  the  speed  of  our  horses,  and  the 
skill  with  which  it  was  used ;  if  they  overtook  us,  a  bloody 
and  desperate  fight,  of  course ;  if  we  reached  the  timber  first, 
we  had  them  so  much  at  advantage  they  would  hardly  pursue 
us  farther. 

Williams,  or  rather  Adam  Baker,  as  I  now  felt  convinced 
he  was,  (else  why  this  anxiety  to  get  in  his  power  this  servant 
of  Roach's,  who  had  probably  been  with  his  master  in  Chi 
huahua  ?)  said  to  us,  hastily — 

"  The  fools  are  tearing  it  down  like  mad ;  they  will  soon 


*  A  short,  heavy,  Mexican  \vhip,  made  of  plaited  raw-hide. 
K 


110          ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

break  their  horses'  wind — it's  three  miles — they  can't  hold 
that  gait  through  it — steady  !  steady  !  Sewene — we  must  let 
them  think  they  are  going  to  beat  us — that  will  make  them 
rush  the  harder ;  their  horses  are  tired  already  by  the  mus 
tang  chase — ours  are  fresher — the  last  mile  we  will  let  it 
down  in  earnest — ours  won't  be  much  blown  then,  and  we'll 
beat  'em  half  the  distance." 

I  saw  he  was  right,  and  the  hunters  fell  into  the  trap. 
We  could  soon  tell,  from  their  louder  shouts  and  the  more 
rapid  play  of  their  arms,  that  the  quirts  were  coming  down 
still  hotter,  and  in  their  frantic  eagerness  they  were  over 
tasking  their  horses  under  the  impression  that  they  were 
closing  upon  us. 

The  interest  of  the  scene  was  now  wrought  up  to  painful 
intensity — the  party  were  within  three  hundred  yards  of  us ; 
we  could  hear  the  heavy  thump  of  their  horses'  feet,  and 
their  savage  oaths.  I  looked  over  my  shoulder,  and  could 
see  them  already  disengaging  their  pistols  for  the  mortal 
onset,  but  their  horses  were  evidently  doing  their  best.  We 
played  out  a  little,  to  ascertain  whether  we  could  lead  off  at 
ease,  and,  satisfied  with  this  experiment,  merely  kept  the 
same  distance  between  us  through  the  next  mile.  The  trunks 
of  the  trees  at  the  point  were  now  becoming  more  distinct. 

With  yells  that  were  becoming  hoarser,  and  strokes  of  the 
whip  that  fell  more  heavily  upon  our  ears,  they  seemed  throw 
ing  the  infuriate  energy  of  their  own  passion  into  the  action 
of  their  horses  for  one  last  desperate  effort ;  and  though  we 
too  were  now  plying  the  quirt  and  the  spur,  the  distance  was 
lessening  between  us. 

For  the  next  half  mile  both  parties,  with  steady  speed, 
were  driving  on  at  their  utmost.  The  rumble  of  the  pur 
suers'  tread  was  growing  more  and  more  fearfully  distinct — 
the  poor  Mexican,  his  legs  and  arms  going  with  frantic  ra 
pidity,  his  face  collapsed  and  ashy  with  terror,  his  blue  lips 
drawn  tight  and  apart,  like  those  of  a  corpse  that  had  died  in 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  REXEGADE.  Ill 

a  strong  agony,  showed  his  white,  set  teeth,  his  eyes  glaring 
wildly  back  at  Baker,  watching  that  long  dirk,  when  suddenly 
there  was  a  break  in  the  full  tide  of  yells  behind  us — one  of 
the  party  was  down,  man  and  horse ! 

"  Ha  !"  shouted  Baker,  "  their  horses  are  giving  out ; 
good !  Now  for  it,  boys,  we  shall  beat  'em  !  Just  as  I  said 
— they've  overdone  it.  The  rest  of  them  will  go  down  if 
they  don't  hold  up — steady  !  we  shall  beat  them  easy  enough 
and  have  the  half  mile  to  spare." 

The  yells  were  less  frequent  now,  and,  as  he  prophesied, 
we  rapidly  left  them.  We  saw  two  others  of  their  horses  go 
down — the  trick  had  been  perfectly  successful :  in  their  head 
long  fury  they  had  overdone  their  already  fatigued  horses 
by  rushing  them  too  hard  at  first,  and  in  another  moment 
we  were  sweeping  across  the  friendly  shadows  of  the  heavy 
forest — their  last  howl  of  disappointed  rage  reverberating 
through  its  columned  aisles. 

Baker  and  myself,  after  the  excitement  of  this  chase,  found 
ourselves  suffering  greatly  from  the  loss  of  blood,  and  by  the 
time  we  had  reached  Sewene's  we  were  almost  used  up.  The 
Mexican  seemed  to  be  suffering  a  sort  of  paralysis  from  terror, 
and  had  almost  to  be  dragged  into  the  house,  which  was  done 
in  very  unceremonious  style  by  two  stout  negroes.  In  obe 
dience  to  Sewene's  orders,  given  in  a  low  tone,  they  hurried 
him  into  a  back  out-house,  and  I  heard  the  rattle  of  bolts  and 
chains.  Morgan  met  us  in  the  passage,  with  some  agitation 
upon  his  smooth  face  as  he  saw  the  blood  on  our  persons. 

"  Hell  is  let  loose  upon  us,  Morgan  !  It's  all  up — we  shall 
have  to  travel !" 

"  Are  you  much  hurt  ? — what's  to  pay  ?" 

"Death  and  the  devil — Roach,  you  know,  was  of  that 
party,  and  I,  like  an  idiot,  didn't  notice  him.  He  would 
have  done  for  me  but  for  Kentuck  here  :  Sewene  pilled  him." 

"I  hope  he  stopped  his  mouth.  You  are  hurt,  too,  sir! 
You  must  have  had  a  rough-and-tumble  of  it !" 


112          ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

•'  Regular  rough  work — we  shall  have  to  leave,  Morgan — 
too  hot  here  !  Sewene,  where's  the  brandy  ?" 

"  Father  !  father  !  what  have  you  been  doing  ?"  The 
daughter  of  Sewene,  pale  as  death,  was  among  us.  "Blood  ! 
oh,  God,  are  you  hurt  ?  Another  of  these  dreadful  scenes ! 
Oh,  my  father  !  my  father  !" 

She  threw  her  arms  about  his  neck,  her  long  lashes  droop 
ing  with  tears,  and  gazing  through  the  sparkling  mist  into 
his  eyes  for  an  instant,  she  said — 

"  Must  this  be  always  so  ?  Let  us  go !  please  !  please  let 
us  go  to  the  States.  That  fearful  man !  father,  he  will  get 
you  killed :  mother  will  go  crazy.  III!  what  will  become 
of  me?"  She  shuddered,  and  in  a  low  voice,  clinging  more 
closely  to  him,  as  she  pleaded,  "  Do  !  you  say  you  love  your 
child — you  call  me  sweet  Nimqua  when  you  kiss  me  !" 

With  a  convulsive  shiver  she  sank  into  a  chair,  covering 
her  face  with  her  hands. 

"  Oh,  I  shall  go  wild,  my  father,  I  shall  go  wild,  if  I  cannot 
get  away  from  such  scenes  !" 

Sewene  stood  gazing  down  at  his  weeping  child  for  an 
instant,  with  a  stricken  and  sorrowful  look  ;  then  quickly,  in 
a  startlingly  abrupt  tone,  he  said — 

"  Sacre  !  no  !  no  !  no  blood  on  my  pale  flower  !  stain  like 
these  !"  stretching  out  his  tawney  hands.  "Mother — you — 
shall  go — New  Orleans!" 

"  Sewene,"  said  Morgan,  who  had  been  eagerly  watching 
this  scene,  "  you  are  right ;  this  is  noble  of  you.  This 
savage  frontier  is  no  place  for  your  wife  and  daughter.  It 
was  cruelly  selfish  of  you  to  bring  her  here  after  an  education 
in  the  seclusion  and  refinement  of  a  nunnery.  Send  them 
to  New  Orleans  ;  you  are  wealthy,  and  establish  them  there 
in  a  style  worthy  of  your  daughter's  accomplishments  and 
beauty.  Let  them  start  early  in  the  morning,  at  once — you 
can  trust  your  overseer — every  thing  will  blow  over  in  a  short 
time,  if  we  all  get  out  of  the  way.  You  can  then  come  back 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.          113 

yourself,  when  you  get  tired  of  the  city,  and  leave  them  there 
until  this  frontier  becomes  more  settled.  Baker  and  myself 
will  accompany  you  all  the  way,  and  this  gentleman,"  bowing 
to  me,  "will,  no  doubt,  so  far  as  there  is  any  danger." 

I  merely  nodded,  scarcely  conscious  of  what  was  said,  for 
the  ice-bolt  had  entered  my  soul  from  another  quarter. 

During  this  speech  I  had  been  watching  Nimqua.  At  the 
first  sound  of  Morgan's  voice  she  had  started  slightly,  but  as 
he  went  on,  her  drooping  figure  had  regained  all  its  elastic 
grace,  and  with  neck  slightly  curved,  her  rich  lips  a  little 
parted,  and  those  dark,  open  eyes  flooding  the  liquid  light 
of  love  and  gratitude  in  beams  that  lived  and  glowed  upon 
the  air,  she  gazed  into  his  face  as  one  entranced. 

I  looked  up — so  intensely  had  I  been  absorbed  by  the 
scene  just  described,  that  I  had  not  noticed,  nor  had  any  one 
until  now,  the  remarkable  silence  of  Baker  since  he  had 
asked  for  the  brandy.  Nimqua  was  standing,  her  delicate 
hands  raised  and  shivering  with  terror,  staring  aghast  upon 
what  was  indeed  a  terrible  object. 

There,  upon  a  bench  outside  of  our  group,  lay  Baker 
stretched  upon  his  back,  his  head  resting  upon  a  Mexican 
saddle,  placed  there  accidentally,  the  ashy  hue  of  death  upon 
his  face,  his  jaw  fallen,  his  lips  blue,  with  flecks  of  red  foam 
upon  the  corners,  his  large  eyes  protruding  and  dim,  fixed 
in  that  rigid,  frozen  stare,  that  once  seen  is  for  ever  unmis- 
takeable.  Nimqua  broke  the  heavy  silence. 

"Dead  !  dead  !  that  dreadful  man  !"  she  gasped,  and  sank 
back.  I  sprang  forward  to  catch  her,  but  Morgan  was  before 
me — I  caught  myself  in  the  very  act  of  striking  him,  as  with 
a  calm  bow  to  me  he  lifted  her  in  his  arms,  and  bore  her  into 
the  next  room. 

Sewene  had  rushed  out  to  look  for  restoratives — I  was  left 
alone  with  Baker — I  lifted  his  hand,  still  clenching  Jie  oross- 
hafted  dagger ;  it  was  damp  and  cold,  and  fell  heavily  like 

lead  upon  his  side.    Strange  man  !  the  wound  had  been  more 
K2  8 


114 

desperate  than  we  dreamed.  I  opened  his  bosom  ;  he  wore  a 
mail  shirt  next  his  skin,  and  masses  of  clotted  blood  showed 
that  he  had  been  bleeding  most  profusely.  He  had  sunk 
down  with  that  last  reckless  speech  upon  his  lips,  and  died 
without  a  groan. 

The  restoratives  availed  nothing — life  was  utterly  extinct. 
Sewene's  manner  became  more  and  more  confident  as  this 
certainty  became  fixed ;  his  step  became  more  buoyant ;  his 
whole  air  was  that  of  a  man  who  felt  himself  relieved  from 
some  heavy  impending  curse — some  incubus  that  had  stag 
nated  the  currents  of  his  life. 

Sewene  was  a  fiercely  passionate,  strong  man,  but  very 
much  of  the  animal ;  and  the  subtle  intellectuality  of  Baker 
had  enslaved  him,  and  turned  these  passions  often  into  the 
wrong ;  and  now  that  his  better  nature  had  been  stirred  by 
the  pleadings  of  his  fair  child,  he  felt  that  to  be  relieved  from 
that  devilish  influence  was  like  a  respite  for  his  soul  from  a 
black  doom  ;  and  he  ordered  the  preparations  for  our  journey 
by  daybreak,  with  the  eagerness  of  a  prisoner  about  to  have 
the  bolts  turned  that  were  to  let  him  out  into  the  glad  sun 
shine  again. 

And  what  seemed  strangely  righteous  to  me,  (for  it  was 
the  retribution  of  his  crimes,)  from  the  moment  when  it  was 
certain  that  he  was  dead,  nobody  approached  or  touched  the 
body  of  Baker ;  and  when  I  retired  to  catch  a  few  hours* 
rest,  by  the  dim  light  of  a  single  candle,  I  saw  it  lying  in  the 
same  position — the  foam  still  upon  his  lips,  and  the  stony 
eyes  glaring  out  into  the  darkness — alone  with  the  silence 
and  his  bad  name  we  left  him — while  the  owls  hooted  and 
the  hoarse  wolves  chorussed  a  fitting  requiem. 

I  had  slept  most  profoundly  for  several  hours,  when  I  was 
awakened  by  the  heavy  trampling  of  many  feet  in  the  passage 
where  the  body  lay,  and  the  hoarse,  subdued  sound  of  many 
voices.  I  was  on  my  feet  in  an  instant,  arms  in  hand,  when 
I  heard  the  voice  of  Morgan  in  loud,  clear  tones — "  You  see 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.          H5 

he  is  dead,  my  friends !  It  matters  not  what  his  crimes 
were,  he  is  out  of  the  reach  of  your  vengeance." 

"  But  we  will  drag  his  cursed  carcass  to  the  tail  of  a  mus 
tang,"  said  a  coarse  voice.  I  opened  my  door  and  looked 
out :  there  were  ten  or  fifteen  rude  men  grouped  ahout  the 
body — the  faint  light  just  sufficient  to  show  the  somewhat 
awed  but  stern  purpose  on  their  features,  and  the  gleam  of 
their  long  rifles. 

Unarmed  and  half  dressed,  Morgan  was  standing  in  the 
door  of  his  room ;  one  of  the  men  stepped  forward  suddenly, 
and,  seizing  an  arm,  shook  the  body  violently — 

"  I  am  afraid  the  cunning  little  devil  isn't  dead  sure 
enough  !" 

The  body  was  rigid,  and  the  red  foam  bubbled  over  from 
the  lips ;  the  man  drew  back — 

"God !  I  guess  there's  no  mistake  in  that !" 

"Yes,  Jack,  he's  done  for,  certain !     Roach  is  revenged!" 

"But  Sewene  did  it— let's  have  him  !" 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Morgan,  "  in  the  first  place  you  wil) 
have  a  desperate  fight  for  that — we  are  prepared  for  you. 
Sewene,  the  negroes,  his  overseer,  myself,  and  the  Kentuckian 
are  well  armed,  and  ready  to  protect  the  females  in  this 
house  and  our  own  lives,  so  that  it  will  be  no  child's  play — in 
the  next  place,  Baker,  the  man  you  want,  is  dead,  and  you 
surely  are  not  going  to  be  brutes  enough  to  put  that  threat 
into  execution — in  the  next  place,  you  are  interfering  in  a 
matter  that  rests  entirely  between  the  brother  of  Roach  and 
Sewene.  You  will  always  find  Sewene  ready  to  account  to 
him,  blood  for  blood.  I  appeal  to  you  as  men  to  leave 
quietly,  and  not  frighten  these  poor  women — we  will  fight 
to  the  death  rather  than  permit  it — here  is  his  young  daugh 
ter  in  the  house,  and  his  wife.  It  will  be  unmanly  in  you ! 
You  know  Sewene  is  not  a  man  to  shrink  from  responsi 
bility  !" 


116  ADAM   BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE. 

"  Well !  well !  that's  sensible,  boys,  and  if  you  haven't 
killed  that  Mexican,  we  will  go." 

"  The  Mexican  is  not  dead — here's  the  key — he  is  in  that 
house;  take  him,  and  leave  quietly!" 

He  tossed  the  key  to  one  of  them :  the  man  caught  it,  and 
said — 

"  Come,  boys,  let's  go  !  leave  that  rotten  lump  there — we 
won't  have  a  row,  for  the  sake  of  the  women — Jim  Roach  will 
be  here  to-morrow,  and  we  will  all  come  with  him,  and  see 
that  he  has  a  fair  fight  out  of  Sewene.  Let's  be  off — we 
won't  hurt  Sewene's  little  girl.  It's  bad  luck,  you  know,  to 
blood  a  '  white  fawn.' ' 

The  party  moved  off,  and  I  was  astonished  to  see  these 
ruffianly  men  pass  out  on  tiptoe,  cautiously  as  if  they  were 
creeping  on  an  enemy,  for  fear  they  might  disturb  the  "white 
fawn."  This  was  a  generous  trait  that  all- conquering  beauty 
and  innocence  will  call  up,  in  hearts  however  savage  and 
brutalized. 

I  heard  them  unlock  the  door,  and  in  a  low,  stern  voice, 
command  silence  of  the  Mexican,  who  had  commenced  a  sort 
of  wail — thinking,  no  doubt,  that  his  time  was  come — and  in 
a  little  while  the  sound  of  their  horses'  feet  died  away  in  the 
distance.  Much  to  my  amazement,  Sewene,  with  thirty  ne 
groes,  fully  armed,  and  the  overseer,  came  forward  out  of 
the  shade,  where  they  had  been  standing  in  the  yard,  waiting 
the  result  of  this  scene. 

It  was  nearly  day,  and  all  was  now  rapid  preparation  for 
setting  off.  I  threw  myself  on  the  bed  again,  and  when  they 
summoned  me  to  start,  I  noticed,  as  I  passed  out,  that  the 
body  of  Baker  was  gone.  I  made  no  inquiries  what  had 
become  of  it ;  and,  after  a  hearty  meal,  we  got  under  way, 
Sewene,  Morgan,  and  myself,  with  three  negroes  leading 
pack-mules. 

Our  trip  was  a  pleasant  one.    I  found  my  companions  very 
greeable,  and  many  a  strange  revelation  Morgan  (whom  1 


ADAM  BAKER,  THE  RENEGADE.         117 

learned  to  like  exceedingly)  made  to  me  of  his  own  wild 
career  and  connexion  with  that  remarkable  being,  Baker. 

Fifteen  days  after,  we  arrived  in  the  crescent  city.  And 
it  was  a  gay  wedding  that  I  attended,  a  few  days  after— a 
little  splenetic  I  could  not  help  feeling  as  the  bridal  kiss  was 
given;  and  Nimqua,  the  "White  Fawn,"  illustrated  on  her 
happy  face  "the  silent  war  of  lilies  and  of  roses." 


THE  TEXAN  VIRAGO 


THE    TAILOR    OF    GOTHAM. 


TALES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  BORDER. 


THE  TEXAN  VIRAGO  AND  THE  TAILOR 
OF  GOTHAM. 

AUNT  BECK  was  a  character  such  as  could  have  flourished 
only  in  Texas  or  Australia.  She  was  a  tall  and  large-framed 
woman,  who,  having  come  of  Scotch  and  Irish  parents,  bore, 
in  her  rounded,  yet  iron-jawed  face,  a  singular  union  of  that 
mischievous  humour  and  stolid  will  which  are  the  character 
istics  of  the  two  races. 

We  think  it  was  evident  enough  when  you  met  her  eye, 
that  Aunt  Beck  had  never  been  born  to  exhibit,  under  any 
possible  circumstances  in  this  troublesome  life,  a  very  saintly 
degree  of  patience — for,  find  her  in  howsoever  placid  mood 
you  might,  there  was  still  a  certain  sharpness  in  the  twinkle 
of  her  humour  which  made  your  nerves  creep. 

This  may  be  an  uncharitable  conjecture  of  ours,  since 
Texas  (a  few  years  after  the  Revolution)  was  by  no  means  a 
hot-bed  of  the  godly  virtues ;  and,  from  all  accounts,  there 
had  been  little  in  the  fortunes  which  had  befallen  Aunt  Beck 
to  sweeten  her  temper,  or  cultivate  in  her  great  devoutness 
of  resignation. 

A  partial  and  plausible  theory  asserts  that  circumstances 

make  men — and  women,  too,  we  suppose  ! — but  we  incline  to 
L  121 


122  THE  TEXAN  VIRAGO 

the  belief  that  such  women  as  Aunt  Beck  make  their  own 
circumstances — or,  rather,  find  such  as  are  most  congenial  to 
their  tempers. 

She  was  one  of  those  born  to  be  despots — to  rule  with  a 
tyrannous  will  whatever  persons  and  conditions  she  might 
come  in  contact  with ;  and  though  her  fate  had  been  a  cruel 
one,  yet  misfortune  had  as  little  hardened  her  generous  im 
pulses  as  it  had  softened  her  domineering  temper.  But  she 
stood  the  best  sponsor  of  her  own  character ;  for,  though  a 
"lone  woman  in  the  world,"  she  was  known  to  be  so  remark 
ably  well  able  to  answer  for  herself,  that  no  heaven-daring 
ruffian  of  the  wild  frontier  on  which  she  lived  ever  presumed 
to  cross  questions  with  her  in  a  way  to  risk  provoking  an  ex 
periment  of  her  hair-splitting  skill  with  the  pistol,  a  brace  of 
which  she  carried  where  housewives  usually  carry  the  bunch 
of  keys. 

For  her  log  hut  in  the  old  town  of  Goliad — of  bloody 
memory — was  at  this  time  the  only  tavern,  and  she  found 
pistols  more  useful  than  keys  in  protecting  her  property,  and 
keeping  her  rough  customers  in  order. 

Indeed,  it  was  perfectly  understood  that  she  ruled,  with 
an  iron  hand,  all  who  claimed  the  hospitalities  of  her  roof- 
tree,  and  that  from  her  despotic  fiat  there  could  be  no  ap 
peal  ;  for  if  the  resort  was  to  force,  her  ready  hand  and 
savage  temper  were  nothing  loath  to  meet  it ;  if  the  tongue 
was  to  be  the  weapon,  then  hers  was,  beyond  all  possible 
competition,  the  bitterest  and  most  abusive  that  ever  wagged ! 

Whatever  of  misfortune  really  had  occurred,  Aunt  Beck's 
was  a  "silent  sorrow ;"  for  she  never  spoke  of  her  past  life 
in  connection  with  any  of  its  affections;  and  that  she  had  ever 
known  those  which  are  common  to  her  sex  at  all,  you  could 
only  discover  in  occasional  and  unconscious  outbreaks  of  a 
tender  impulse,  which  revealed  the  woman  through  the  des 
perado. 

But  though  she  herself  was  sternly  silent  at  all  times  upon 


AND   THE   TAILOR   OF   GOTHAM.  123 

such  themes,  there  were  plenty  of  others  who  volunteered  to 
talk  for  her,  and  it  was  a  gloomy  tale  of  utter  desolation  at 
which  these  whispering  rumour-bearers  hinted,  in  connection 
with  her  career  in  Texas. 

It  was  said  that  her  husband  was  one  of  the  early  colonists 
with  Austin,  and  that  they  had  brought  with  them  from  the 
mountains  of  Pennsylvania  a  lusty  family  of  sons — six  stout 
and  manly-looking  fellows  as  ever  drew  "  a  bead"  or  slung 
an  axe.  She  never  had  a  daughter — but  her  seventh  and 
youngest  boy  was  very  feminine  and  delicate — unlike  his  six 
rough  brothers  as  contrast  could  make  him,  both  in  appear 
ance  and  in  temper.  Her  mother's  heart  clung  to  this  boy 
before  all  the  rest,  while  her  husband,  who  was  a  fierce  and 
rude  old  ruffian,  regarded  him  with  contempt,  and  finally 
even  a  pitiless  aversion  as  womanly  and  feeble. 

Until  the  birth  of  this  unfortunate  child  the  pair  had  got 
along  together  with  as  little  difficulty  and  as  few  serious  col 
lisions  as  could  be  expected  from  natures  which  were  mu 
tually  strong,  tenacious,  and  unyielding — that  is,  they  had 
quarrelled  now  and  then  pretty  savagely;  but  as  they  really 
loved  and  respected  each  other  heartily,  they  had  soon  come 
together  again,  with  a  renewal  of  the  affection  which  had 
only  generated  something  of  warmth  in  the  separation.  But 
now  his  slight  form,  and  fair,  pretty,  girlish  face,  came  be 
tween  the  contending  powers,  not  as  the  angel  of  peace,  but 
of  discord. 

They  lived  amid  perilous  scenes,  and  the  ruder  virtues  of 
brute  strength  and  courage  were  more  highly  valued  than  all 
others,  and  while  the  old  man  rejoiced  in  the  prowess  and 
daring  of  his  six  stalwart  boys,  who  were  in  every  sense  so 
useful  and  congenial  in  his  lawless  pursuits,  the  youngest  be 
came  an  eye-sore  and  a  shame  to  him  in  their  midst.  Not 
that  the  boy  had  really  shown  himself  to  be  deficient  in 
manly  spirit  by  any  overt  act  as  he  grew  up,  but  mainly  be 
cause  he  seemed  to  have  no  sympathy  with  their  cherished 


124  THE  TEXAN  VIRAGO 

moods  of  feeling  and  habitual  deeds ;  for  this  the  elder  sons 
hated  him,  and  aided  to  nourish  the  father's  hate. 

The  old  man  was  a  cattle-driver,  or  "cow-boy,"  as  those 
men  are  and  were  termed  who  drove  in  the  cattle  of  the 
Mexican  rancheros  of  the  Rio  Grande  border,  either  by 
stealth,  or  after  plundering  or  murdering  the  herdsmen ! 
They  were,  in  short,  considered  as  banditti  before  the  revo 
lution,  and  have  been  properly  considered  so  since.  This 
term  "cow-boy"  was  even  then — and  still  more  emphatically, 
later — one  name  for  many  crimes ;  since  those  engaged  in  it 
were  mostly  outlaws  confessedly,  and  if  not  so  at  the  begin 
ning,  were  always  driven  into  outlawry  by  the  harsh  and 
stern  contingencies  of  their  pursuit,  which,  as  it  was  in 
violation  of  all  law,  compelled  them  frequently  into  the  most 
heinous  crimes,  to  protect  themselves  against  entailed  -conse 
quences. 

The  predatory  excursions  of  this  man  and  his  six  boys  had 
furnished  one  of  the  earliest  occasions  for  the  harsh  measures 
of  the  central  government  toward  the  new  colony  of  Texas, 
which  led  to  the  first  collisions  between  them. 

The  son,  who  was  then  sixteen  years  of  age,  had  always 
refused  to  accompany  his  father  and  brothers  on  these  excur 
sions,  and,  although  he  said  little,  had,  in  spite  of  their 
united  taunts  and  insults,  persisted  in  remaining  by  the  side 
of  his  mother.  She  had  heretofore  taken  his  part,  and 
shielded  him  indirectly  from  these  persecutions  as  quietly  as 
possible  for  her  impetuous  nature.  But  now  a  crisis  had  ar 
rived.  He  was  old  enough  to  go  with  them  and  share  in  the 
hardships,  as  well  as  dangers  and  crimes  of  their  expedi 
tions  ;  and  the  old  man  scornfully  demanded  that  "  the  white- 
faced  gal"  should  go  along  to  cook  for  them,  if  he  had  not 
the  spirit  to  do  any  thing  else ! 

The  boy,  it  seems,  was  of  a  delicate  and  poetical  nature, 
and  shrank,  now  more  than  ever,  from  the  harsh  and  uncon 
genial  association  of  his  father  and  brothers ;  for  the  dreams 


AND  THE  TAILOR  OF  GOTHAM.          125 

of  a  calmer  and  nobler  life,  which  had  been  nourished  in  him 
by  the  constant  study  of  some  few  books  which  his  mother 
had  brought  along  with  her,  had  now  begun  to  take  the 
warm  complexion  of  reality ;  and,  with  an  inherited  firmness 
of  will,  they  had  become  as  laws  and  a  fixed  purpose  to  him. 

He  refused  positively  to  go,  or  to  hold  any  thing  in  com 
mon  with  his  father  and  brothers,  and  that  with  a  resolution 
and  tenacity  which  both  surprised  and  astounded  the  old 
man,  who  had  heretofore  left  him  to  himself  and  his  mother 
with  a  contemptuous  disregard,  never  dreaming,  of  course, 
that  he  would  have  the  insolence  at  any  time  to  assert  his 
life  as  his  own.  The  reaction  of  his  surprise  was  furious 
anger.  He  loosened  upon  the  poor  child's  head  the  vials  of 
his  hoarded  wrath,  in  words  of  the  bitterest,  the  most  brutal 
and  savage  denunciation.  This  was  in  the  presence  of  all 
the  six  brothers  and  the  mother. 

The  boy  stood  among  them,  white  and  firm :  not  a  nerve 
quivered  while  he  looked  his  father  steadily  in  the  eye.  This 
only  enraged  the  old  ruffian  the  more.  He  taunted  him  with 
the  most  merciless  and  even  ferocious  malignity — the  boy's 
face  merely  grew  whiter  and  more  rigid.  The  brute  now 
roared  with  anger,  and  cursed  him  in  dreadful  curses,  and 
swore  finally,  with  a  hideous  imprecation,  that  if  the  boy  did 
not  start  with  them  the  next  morning,  he  would  tie  him  up  to 
a  tree  and  lash  his  naked  back  with  a  quirt  while  he  could 
stand,  or  there  was  life  in  him. 

"You  will  have  it  to  do,"  said  the  child,  calmly.  "I 
won't  go  with  you,  old  man  !  I  will  stay  with  mother !" 

"You  won't! — won't  you?"  roared  the  old  wretch,  spring 
ing  forward.  "  Take  that !  and  go  to  her  then  !" 

He  struck  him  in  the  ungovernable  paroxysm  of  his  rage — 
struck  him  on  his  fair  and  delicate  temple  a  blow  that  would 
have  felled  an  ox.  The  brave  boy  sank  without  a  moan,  the 
olood  gushing  from  his  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth. 

The  mother  had  stood  by  during  the  scene  without  offering 
L2 


126  THE   TEXAN  VIRAGO 

to  interfere ;  she  sprang  forward,  as  she  saw  the  blow  about 
to  be  struck,  to  arrest  her  husband's  arm ;  but  it  was  too  late. 
Her  darling — the  child  of  her  heart — lay  at  her  feet  dead, 
the  red  blood  streaming  over  his  white  face.  The  woman  was 
gone — a  raving  tigress  was  in  her  place — an  unnatural  mon 
ster  !  She  sprang  upon  her  husband,  and  before  the  sons 
could  interfere,  she  had  snatched  the  bowie  knife  from  his 
own  belt  and  cut  him  with  a  dozen  mortal  strokes ;  and  then 
charging  like  a  demon  of  blind  retribution  upon  her  elder 
sons,  had  scattered  them  with  the  bloody  knife  far  and  wide, 
several  of  them  badly  wounded  before  they  had  time  to 
realize  all  the  horror  of  the  awful  and  unnatural  scene. 

They  never  dared  go  near  her  again.  While  pursuing 
them  with  the  knife,  she  had  screamed  in  their  ears,  in  the 
broken  language  of  her  demoniac  fury,  that  they  had  been 
the  cause  of  the  boy's  death — that  they  had  set  their  father 
on  from  the  first,  and  might  have  prevented  him  from  strik 
ing  now  if  they  had  tried — that  they  had  hated  the  boy  be 
cause  he  was  better  than  themselves !  They  knew  her  too 
well  ever  to  venture  into  her  presence  again,  and,  bad  as 
they  were,  the  horror  of  that  event  made  them  worse  and 
more  desperate  than  ever ;  so  that  in  a  few  years  they  were 
all  killed  off  either  in  foray  or  fray  along  the  border. 

Who  shall  speak  the  dark,  unutterable  wo  of  this  fierce 
woman,  thus  left  alone  with  the  bodies  of  the  slain,  and  her 
own  exhausted,  reacting  passion  ?  She  lived  far  away  from 
any  neighbours,  and  for  several  days  nobody  came  to  intrude 
upon  her  mournfully  fearful  solitude.  When  at  last  some  of 
the  neighbours  gathered  in — having  heard  the  report  of  her 
sons — they  found  her  busied  about  her  house  as  usual,  and 
when  they  asked  her  for  her  child  and  husband,  she  pointed 
in  stern  silence  to  their  graves,  and  harshly  bade  them  go 
about  their  business. 

One  of  the  party,  a  little  more  pertinacious  or  officious 
than  the  rest,  insisted  that  something  should  be  done  in  the 


AND   THE   TAILOR   OF   GOTHAM.  127 

case,  and  that  she  should  go  in  with  them  to  Brazoria  to  be 
tried.  The  woman  stepped  back  into  her  cabin,  and  bring 
ing  forward  two  guns,  leaned  one  against  the  side  of  the 
door,  while,  with  a  grim  relentless  scowl  upon  her  ghastly 
face,  she  ordered  them  to  start,  at  the  same  time  presenting 
the  other  gun  at  them. 

'They  were  all  armed  of  course,  but  they  did  not  cnoose  to 
bide  the  issue  of  such  a  contest,  and  that  with  a  woman,  too ; 
so  they  left,  and  nobody  ever  dared  to  mention  the  event  to 
her  again.  For  more  than  a  year  it  was  believed  no  white 
person  went  near  her  house,  and  that  she  did  not  see  a  living 
soul,  except  the  wild  Indians,  perhaps,  who  are  said  to  have 
been  frequently  repulsed  by  her  single  hand,  in  attempts 
upon  her  property. 

Her  house  was  then  on  an  old  trail  which  led  into  the  Rio 
Grande  border,  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mier.  It 
had  formerly  been  traversed  by  the  tobacco  smugglers  from 
the  Sabine  or  the  coast;  but  of  late  years  it  had  been  dis 
used,  for  fear  of  the  cow-boy  depredations.  Her  husband 
and  sons  were  said  to  have  frequently  robbed  arid  murdered 
the  companies  of  traders  as  they  called  themselves — but 
really  smugglers — along  this  trail ;  and  now  that  they  had 
disappeared,  the  bands  of  these  equally  lawless  men  began  to 
make  their  appearance  again  along  the  trail,  with  their  long 
trains  of  mules  laden  with  bales  of  tobacco. 

These  men  were  the  earliest  intruders  upon  her  solitude, 
and  a  rough  reception  it  was  they  met  with  at  first.  But 
these  men  are  a  merry  and  dare-devil  class,  and  the  laughing 
recklessness  with  which  they  braved  her  savageness  at  last 
won  upon  her  to  a  certain  degree,  and  she  sullenly  permitted 
them  a  sort  of  take-care-of-themselves  hospitality.  They 
represented  her  appearance,  when  they  first  intruded  upon 
her,  as  awfully  hideous. 

She  had  been  a  fat  and  ruddy  dame,  with  hair  slightly 
grizzled,  one  year  before ;  now  she  seemed  tall  and  gaunt, 


128  THE  TEXAN  VIRAGO 

and  her  chalky  skin  was  shrivelled  to  her  bones.  Her  hair 
was  a  mass  of  creamy,  unnatural-looking  white,  and  her 
sunken  eyes  burned  with  a  sultry  sullenness  that  was  appal 
ling.  After  the  first  uncontrollable  shudder,  these  men  were 
either  too  brutal  or  too  careless  to  pay  any  further  regard  to 
these  appearances,  and  they  knew  her  reputation  rather  too 
well  to  venture  to  speak  of  them  in  her  presence. 

Their  rude  and  boisterous  mirth  seemed  to  have  an  imme 
diate  effect  in  rousing  her  life  from  the  deadly  lethargy  into 
which  it  was  sinking.  They  first  awakened  her  anger  furi 
ously,  and  then,  as  that  was  permitted  to  exhaust  itself  in 
harmless  vituperation  upon  them,  her  kindlier  feelings  be 
came  gradually  aroused  through  the  strongly-inherited  mirth- 
fulness  of  her  Irish  descent.  They  say  that  when  she  finally 
broke  out  of  a  sudden  in  their  midst  into  a  loud  laugh,  they 
were  frightened — that  it  had  an  unearthly  sound,  like  the 
dry  chatter  of  a  skeleton's  laugh.  She  checked  herself  sud 
denly,  and  glared  around  her  in  a  fury ;  but  they  all  looked 
so  really  startled  and  affrighted,  that  she  burst  again  into  a 
roar  of  spasmodic  mirth,  which  continued,  peal  upon  peal, 
until  she  sank  hysterically  upon  the  earth ;  and  after  weep 
ing  for  a  long  while  there,  she  arose  to  her  feet  a  changed 
being.  The  spell  was  broken  ! 

She  resumed  a  partial  cheerfulness  before  they  left,  and 
when  the  party  returned,  they  found  her  greatly  altered  in 
appearance,  as  she  was  in  temper  and  bearing.  She  looked 
like  a  human  being  now,  and  met  their  rough  greetings  with 
something  like  good  humour,  though  when  they  ventured 
upon  some  rude  bantering,  the  savage  tartness  of  her  retorts 
warned  them  to  keep  in  due  bounds.  As  time  progressed, 
this  class  of  outlaws  became  great  favourites  with  her,  and 
her  house  came  to  be  a  sort  of  frontier  rendezvous  for  them. 
L  The  year  after  she  heard  of  the  death  of  the  last  of  her 
sons,  she  undertook  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Rio  Grande,  for  the 
purpose  of  confession,  penance,  and  absolution,  at  the  great 


AND  THE  TAILOR  OF  GOTHAM.          129 

cathedral  of  Monterey.  She  had  been  educated  a  Catholic, 
but,  until  the  events  of  late  years,  had  entirely  forgotten  her 
religion.  The  journey  was  a  very  perilous  one,  but  she  made 
it  in  company  with  one  of  those  smuggling  bands  so  far  as 
the  neighbourhood  of  Mier. 

On  parting  with  them  she  crossed  the  river  above  Mier, 
and  reported  herself  to  the  Padre  there,  who,  believing  her 
account  of  the  object  of  her  journey,  gave  her  a  permit  to 
travel,  which  he  obtained  from  the  Alcalde,  and  forwarded  the 
pious  pilgrim,  with  a  strong  escort,  to  his  superior  at  Monte 
rey — she,  of  course,  leaving  behind  a  heavy  remembrance  for 
his  blessing.  Returning  with  a  conscience  now  entirely  at 
ease,  and  a  purse  nearly  as  light,  she  rejoined  the  smugglers, 
and  from  that  time  until  the  revolution  she  was  openly  en 
gaged  herself  in  the  smuggling  trade,  and  even  led  her  own 
little  band  of  men  and  mules  in  person.  Her  journey  to  the 
confessional  had  given  her  all  the  advantages  of  information 
she  desired,  and  she  availed  herself  of  them  in  her  own  ad 
venturous  manner.  She  spoke  Mexican  admirably,  and  as 
she  now  had  the  reputation  of  possessing  a  long  purse,  and, 
of  course,  great  piety,  it  was  easy  enough  for  her,  on  pre 
tence  of  relieving  her  sensitive  conscience,  to  cross  into  any 
of  the  border  towns,  and,  after  feeing  the  priest  heavily,  ob 
tain  through  him  an  interview  with  the  Alcalde,  who  had  to 
be  feed  again  yet  more  heavily  for  the  privilege  of  intro 
ducing  her  tobacco  into  the  town  during  the  night,  concealed 
beneath  carts  of  hay  or  other  produce  for  the  market. 

The  permit  or  understanding  being  obtained,  she  would 
send  back  a  trusty  Mexican  servant  to  the  camp — on  the 
other  side  of  the  Rio  Grande,  in  which  she  had  left  her  com 
pany  concealed — with  directions  where  to  cross,  and  at  what 
hour.  She  would  then  meet  them,  having  previously,  with 
the  zealous  aid  of  her  coadjutor,  the  worthy  Alcalde,  sent  her 
smuggling  convoy  of  carts  or  mules  to  the  same  point  by 
many  different  r^tes.  The  tobacco  being  transferred  to 


130  THE   TEXAN   VIRAGO 

these,  they  scattered  again,  and  came  in  by  the  different 
routes,  mingled  in  with  other  market-carts  or  mules  coming 
in  from  the  country. 

The  Alcalde  was,  of  course,  on  hand,  in  the  zealous  dis 
charge  of  his  duty,  which  was,  in  part,  to  see  that  the  revenue- 
laws  were  duly  respected  within  the  limits  of  his  jurisdiction. 
The  great  man  was  unusually  condescending  that  morning, 
and  if  he  had  not  chosen  to  take  his  officer — whose  duty  it 
was  to  inspect  all  loads  and  packs — into  confidence,  and  go 
shares  of  the  plunder  with  him,  he  would  so  overwhelm  that 
functionary  by  his  astonishing  and  loquacious  condescension, 
as  to  completely  distract  his  attention  from  his  duty,  and 
thus  permit  the  tobacco  to  pass  in  safely.  Usually,  however, 
there  was  no  necessity  for  all  this  trouble.  The  Alcalde  had 
only  to  send  for  his  officer  and  get  him  drunk  over  night, 
and  the  tobacco  would  be  safely  enough  housed  before  he 
awoke ;  or  else,  if  he  was  a  person  he  could  entirely  trust,  he 
would  merely  convey  the  intelligence  to  him  that  he  had  a 
little  speculation  on  foot,  and  desired  that  officer  would  wear 
his  brown  spectacles  next  morning,  and  this  hint  would,  of 
course,  be  understood ;  and  when  the  tobacco  was  fairly  out 
of  harm's  way,  this  obliging  functionary  was  to  be  remem 
bered  by  a  third  heavy  disbursement. 

In  spite  of  the  entailed  necessity  for  all  these  heavy  out 
lays — and  these  are  only  the  direct  and  legitimate  ones, 
under  the  easiest  possible  conditions — the  trade  was  occa 
sionally  so  very  lucrative,  that  the  smuggler  dared  every 
thing  rather  than  give  it  up,  though  it  was  quite  as  common 
for  him  to  lose  all  as  to  make  these  enormous  percentages. 
As,  for  instance,  the  Alcalde  might  be  attacked  with  a  sudden 
fit  of  indigestion,  and,  of  course,  of  virtue  and  patriotic 
zeal — then  his  unpurchasable  honour  was  dangerous,  though 
by  no  means  rash.  He  would  take  the  purse  of  the  tamperer 
with  smothered  indignation — assist  him  with  well-dissembled 
activity  to  cross  his  tobacco — nay,  even  get  it  into  the  town, 


AND  THE  TAILOR  OF  GOTHAM.  131 

and  then,  in  a  sudden  fit  of  abstraction,  inform  his  officer, 
privately,  that  the  prey  was  in  the  net,  and  he  would  draw 
the  strings  at  once.  Consequence — forfeiture  of  the  whole — 
seizure  and  imprisonment  of  the  smuggler  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  Alcalde. 

It  was  the  duty  of  this  virtuous  person  to  forward  such 
prisoners  to  Mexico,  and  of  course  account  to  the  govern 
ment  for  the  forfeited  property ;  but  as  his  fit  of  indigestion 
would  have  passed  off  by  this  time,  his  ears  were  mercifully 
open  to  propositions  for  ransom  from  the  friends  of  the  cap 
tive,  and  when  a  few  thousand  dollars  more  had  been  forth 
coming,  he  would  permit  his  benevolent  heart  the  gratifica 
tion  of  freeing  the  poor  prisoner,  without  a  shirt  to  his  back, 
while  the  government  remained  nothing  the  wiser  of  such 
good  deeds  on  the  part  of  its  distant  servants.  Sometimes  it 
happened  that  the  unfortunate  adventurer  never  saw  the 
light  again,  having  been  disposed  of  in  some  mysterious  way ; 
and  as  there  was  nobody  who  dared  come  to  inquire  after 
him,  nobody  of  course  was  any  the  wiser  for  his  fate  but  the 
sleek  Alcalde  and  his  tractable  ministers. 

Hard  as  were  such  contingencies,  the  smuggler  no  sooner 
escaped  from  the  consequences  of  one  than  he  risked  another 
without  fail.  There  seems  to  be  a  something  of  charm  in 
the  wild  and  perilous  exigencies  of  such  a  life,  which  holds  with 
it  a  strange  power  over  those  who  have  once  felt  its  spell ; 
no  sort  of  danger,  suffering,  or  defeat  can  deter  them  from  a 
renewal  of  the  attractive  risks.  Strange  as  it  is  that  this 
should  be  so  with  men,  it  is  yet  more  remarkable  to  find  a 
lone  woman  persevering  through  years  of  perilous  vicissitude 
in  this  traffic. 

She  is  represented  to  have  passed  through  nearly  every 
difficult  strait  to  which  the  life  of  the  tobacco-smuggler  is 
liable,  and  indeed  to  have  personally  faced  a  greater  amount 
and  variety  of  dangerous  extremes  than  any  of  the  most 
noted  leaders  of  the  other  sex  along  the  whole  border 


132  THE    TEXAN   VIRAGO 

There  may  have  been  some  romancing  in  this  statement,  as 
is  natural  from  the  unusual  character  of  the  circumstance 
that  a  woman  should  be  engaged  in  such  a  traffic  at  all ;  but 
these  few  facts  are  known  to  be  absolutely  certain,  namely: 
that  she  was  for  a  period  of  five  or  six  years  on  horseback 
for  three-fourths  of  her  time,  riding  like  a  man,  with  pistols 
in  her  holsters  before  her,  and  at  her  belt — she  never  carried 
a  gun — and  passing  between  her  own  house  and  the  towns 
of  the  Rio  Grande ;  that  she  usually  had  five  or  six  men  with 
her,  one  of  whom  was  her  Mexican  servant,  and  a  dozen  or 
more  pack-mules  loaded  with  tobacco  going  out,  and  some 
with  specie  corning  in ;  that  during  this  time  she  was  fre 
quently  taken  prisoner,  and  her  men  came  straggling  in 
without  a  mule  or  a  penny ;  that  she  always  came  in  alone 
on  these  occasions,  and  frequently  made  narrow  escapes 
from,  and  had  desperate  fights  with  the  Indians ;  that  she 
never  hesitated  to  go  anywhere  she  chose,  Indians  or  no  In 
dians,  and  did  not  seem  to  regard  their  being  in  her  path  at 
all,  &c.  &c. 

Such  facts  as  these  were  notorious;  and  it  was  further 
whispered  that  she  owed  her  frequent  escapes  to  the  power 
ful  intercession,  or  rather  interference,  of  the  Padres  down 
along  the  valley  from  Monterey,  who,  it  is  said,  held  her  in 
high  regard  for  her  piety,  or  rather  her  liberality  to  the 
church.  It  was  also  said  that  she  was  both  feared  and  hated 
by  the  majority  of  the  men  whom  she  employed ;  but  that 
she  always  had  one  or  two  about  her  who  were  faithful. 

On  several  occasions  when  they  were  returning,  the  men 
have  attempted  a  mutiny,  to  get  possession  of  the  specie,  by 
taking  her  life.  She  has  always  discovered  the  plot  in  time, 
and  permitting  it  to  come  to  a  head,  has  killed,  often  with 
her  own  hands,  the  ringleaders.  At  such  times  she  was  al 
ways  as  profusely  liberal  to  the  faithful  few  as  she  was  piti 
less  in  her  vengeance  upon  the  traitorous  majority. 
\'  There  are  very  many  extraordinary  stories  told  of  her 


AND  THE  TAILOR  OF  GOTHAM.          133 

daring,  her  cunning,  her  vindictiveness,  and  her  humour;  but 
it  is  a  marked  and  curious  fact,  which  I  have  noted  often 
with  great  interest,  that  amidst  all  these  tales,  in  the  mouths 
of  very  many  different  grades  of  lawless  men,  we  never  yet, 
in  one  instance,  heard  any  thing  like  an  insinuation  directed 
against  her  fair  fame  and  honour.  She  was  by  no  means  so 
old  a  person  that  such  charges  would  not  have  been  thought 
of  and  greedily  circulated  about  her ;  but  that  there  was  a 
certain  grave,  stern,  and  reserved  austerity,  which  made 
itself  so  frequently  apparent  in  her  looks  and  bearing,  in 
spite  of  her  humour  and  recklessness,  that  such  thoughts 
were  utterly  rebuked,  even  in  the  minds  of  the  most  obscene 
blackguards.  She  is  said,  on  one  occasion,  when  near  the 
Rio  Grande,  on  her  way  out  with  tobacco,  to  have  slit  the 
ears  of  such  a  fellow,  who  said  something  in  her  presence 
offensive  to  her  delicacy,  and  then  driven  him  from  her 
camp,  without  food  or  a  gun,  to  find  his  way  back  as  best  he 
might.  This  was  a  lesson  that  lasted  ever  afterwards,  when 
ever  she  was  present  among  men,  of  whatever  stamp  ;  for 
,  such  an  incident  as  this  has  always  wide  circulation. 

At  the  time  the  revolution  broke  out,  she  was  thought  to 
be  quite  wealthy,  and  was  engaged  in  smuggling,  on  a  more 
extensive  scale  than  any  one  else  in  Texas.  She  had  not 
much  visible  property,  but  her  wealth  was  said  to  be  all  in 
gold  and  silver.  Be  this  as  it  may,  that  event  broke  up  her 
smuggling  operations  entirely,  and  she  remained  quiet  at 
home,  taking  sides  with  neither  party. 

But  neutrality  at  such  a  time  was  out  of  the  question,  and 
her  house  was  surrounded  suddenly  and  pillaged  by  the 
blood-thirsty  and  brutal  Cos.  It  is  said  that  he  carried  off  a 
large  sum  in  specie,  which  he  found  concealed  under  the  floor 
of  her  rancho.  From  that  time  she  became  a  fierce  and 
deadly  foe  of  Mexico  and  Mexicans ;  and  it  turned  out,  that 
although  Cos  was  said  to  have  carried  off  all  her  money, 
she  still  had  a  great  deal  left  to  spare  to  the  cause  of  Texas. 


134  THE  TEXAN   VIRAGO 

She  never  did  any  thing  by  halves,  and  so,  by  the  time  the 
war  was  over,  she  found  herself  nearly  penniless,  and  was 
compelled  to  begin  the  world  anew.  She  had  been  hanging 
around  the  army,  sometimes  taking  a  hand,  on  a  pinch,  with 
her  pistols,  and  at  others  cooking  for  the  officers  and  attend 
ing  the  wounded. 

But  when  the  army  was  finally  disbanded,  she  went  back 
to  her  old  life  of  solitude  again,  but  soon  found  that  she 
could  not  live  upon  air;  all  her  money  was  gone  and  her 
stock  scattered  to  the  four  winds.  She  would  not  condescend 
to  trouble  the  new  government  for  repayment  of  the  sums 
she  had  advanced ;  but,  with  characteristic  recklessness  and 
energy,  got  together  some  few  of  the  remaining  men  formerly 
in  her  employ,  and  then,  making  a  sudden  descent  upon  the 
distracted  borders  of  Mexico,  drove  back  a  herd  of  five  hun 
dred  head  of  cattle ; — in  a  word,  became  a  female  "  Cow 
boy,"  as  her  husband  and  elder  sons  had  been  !  On  reach 
ing  the  settlements,  the  cattle  were  rapidly  converted  into 
money,  although  she  did  not  appear  in  the  business,  but 
exacted  through  an  agent. 

Having  received  the  money,  she  is  said  to  have  declared 
her  determination  to  alter  her  mode  of  life — quit  adventur 
ing,  and  settle  down  in  quiet  for  the  rest  of  her  life.  That 
her  ideas  of  quiet  were  decidedly  comparative,  will  be  per 
ceived,  when  it  is  known  that  the  deserted  site  of  Goliad,  of 
bloody  memory,  was  the  location  of  her  new  and  quiet  home. 
It  was  then  the  extreme  frontier  of  settlement  west.  The 
whites  had  been  driven  from  Bahai,  and  the  little  settlement 
at  Victoria  was  scattered ;  the  country  was  filled  with  out 
laws — stragglers  from  both  armies — the  ravens  of  spoil  and 
slaughter,  that  were  starving  now  for  want  of  their  unclean 
food. 

The  Indians,  taking  advantage  of  the  general  confusion, 
were  driving  the  settlers  steadily  back  and  back  towards  the 
San  Bernard,  and  were  constantly  scouring  the  country  back 


AND  THE  TAILOR  OF  GOTHAM.          135 

and  forth  in  small  predatory  bands.  It  was  in  the  midst  of 
euch  a  condition  of  things  that  our  wearied  and  saintly  her- 
mitess,  sighing  for  the  calm  delights  of  peaceful  seclusion, 
away  from  the  harsh  strife  and  wicked  turmoil  of  an  evil 
world,  threw  herself  for  the  remainder  of  her  days.  She 
was  the  pioneer  of  resettlement,  and  took  things  as  they 
came  with  a  most  philosophical  resignation.  If  the  Indians 
troubled  her  stock,  she  sallied  out  and  gave  them  a  drub 
bing — if  renegades  and  horse-thieves  annoyed  her,  she  dealt 
with  them  in  an  equally  summary  manner,  and  soon  made 
her  neighbourhood  respected  to  such  a  degree,  that  two  or 
three  adventurers  from  the  settlements  plucked  up  courage, 
and  came  to  live  in  deserted  tenements  of  the  old  town.  If 
any  one  came  who  did  not  suit  her,  she  soon  drove  him  off 
with  a  flea  in  his  ear. 

Thus  several  years  had  passed,  and  though  there  were  still 
not  more  than  a  half  dozen  others  in  the  town,  yet  the  Old 
Trail  to  Bahai  had  begun  to  be  travelled  now  and  then,  and 
the  little  settlement  at  Victoria  had  begun  to  gather  in 
again,  and  Aunt  Beck  was  not  unfrequently  called  upon  by 
land-hunters,  travellers,  speculators,  and  so  forth,  for  food 
and  lodging — so  she  concluded,  as  the  thing  became  inevita 
ble,  to  give  in  and  "keep  tavern"  at  once. 

About  this  time  my  friend  Dick  Hord,  a  wild  and  gallant 
young  Virginian,  went  to  Texas  to  seek  his  fortune.  He 
was  reckless  as  exuberant  life  and  a  mirthful  and  dare-devil 
spirit  could  make  him  ;  but  yet  he  had  a  sober  purpose  before 
him — that  is,  he  protests  that  he  had — but  we  have  always 
thought  that  he  obtained  the  commission  of  surveyor  of 
Goliad  county  rather  as  an  excuse  for  running  himself  into  all 
sorts  of  scrapes  and  hair-breadth  ventures,  rather  than  with 
the  thrifty  view  of  locating  the  best  lands  for  himself,  and 
thereby  laying  the  foundation  for  a  fortune.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  the  best  proof  of  his  being  a  sad  scamp  is  to  be  found 
in  the  incidents  we  are  about  to  relate. 


136  THE   TEXAN   VIRAGO 

He  made  Goliad  the  centre  of  his  operations,  and  of 
course  his  head-quarters  could  be  nowhere  but  at  Aunt  Beck's 
tavern.  Dick  and  she  got  along  surprisingly  together ;  for 
there  was  something  in  the  cool  matter-of-fact  way  in  which 
he  pushed  his  surveying  or  hunting  expeditions  right  into 
known  Indian  territory  without  the  slightest  regard  to  their 
numbers  or  formidable  fame — which  quite  won  Aunt  Beck's 
heart — because  it  was  so  much  after  her  own  habitual  mode 
of  procedure. 

Dick  had  been  living  this  wandering  and  adventurous  life 
for  over  a  year,  when  the  monotony  of  its  seclusion  began  to 
be  somewhat  relieved.  Young  men  were  flooding  into  Texas 
from  every  State  in  the  Union — their  pockets  stuffed  with 
"land  scrip,"  the  most  of  which  was  located  on  some  imagi 
nary  grant  on  the  remote  frontier.  The  mania  for  specula 
tion,  which  was  the  first  reaction  from  the  depressing  times 
of  the  revolution,  had  scattered  this  worthless  paper  far  and 
wide,  and  many  a  clever,  warm-hearted  fellow  had  been 
gulled  by  the  oily-tonguecl  agents  of  those  irresponsible  com 
panies  into  giving  up  a  valuable  certainty  at  home  to  chase 
the  wild  goose  that  was  to  lay  him  golden  eggs  over  those 
desolate  and  dangerous  plains. 

These  verdant  and  eager  adventurers  had  begun  to  push 
their  way  as  far  as  Goliad;  and  sometimes  when  Dick  came 
in  he  would  find  a  party  waiting  his  arrival  at  Aunt  Beck's 
tavern,  to  go  with  them  and  survey  these  "  promised  lands." 
On  the  occasion  to  which  we  shall  particularly  refer,  he 
found  two  young  men  who  had  just  arrived  from  "the 
States,"  and  were  anxiously  awaiting  him.  One  of  them, 
named  Allen,  was  a  plainly  dressed,  bright-eyed  youth,  who 
said  he  was  a  farmer's  son  from  Tennessee ;  while  the  other 
was  a  heroic  tailor  of  Gotham,  who  had  dropped  one  goose  to 
chase  another. 

The  usual  frank  and  rough  greeting  of  the  frontier  being 
over,  these  men,  together  with  Dick  and  his  two  chain- 


AND   THE   TAILOR   OF   GOTHAM.  137 

carriers,  were  soon  seated  at  dinner  around  an  old  pine  dry- 
goods  box,  which  served  them  for  a  table.  In  the  centre  of 
this  stood  a  large  wooden  bowl,  filled  with  a  boiling  hotch 
potch  of  beef  and  potatoes.  A  tin  pint  cup  flanked  the 
pewter  plate  which  was  in  front  of  each  man.  There  was  no 
sign  of  spoons,  and  the  two  strangers  looked  with  a  puzzled 
and  hungry  curiosity  at  the  contents  of  the  bowl,  when  Dick 
laughingly  drew  his  hunting-knife  and  commenced  spearing 
vigorously  at  the  potatoes  and  fragments  of  meat  which 
were  bobbing  about  in  the  hot  and  muddy-looking  pool. 

They  took  the  hint  and  followed  suit,  while  Aunt  Beck — 
her  strong  features  flaming  from  the  heat  of  the  fire — 
walked  round  behind  them,  filling  each  cup  with  coffee  from 
a  great  black  tin  boiler.  Aunt  Beck  was  usually  sulky  or 
tart  when  strangers  came ;  but  for  a  miracle  she  was  in  a 
rare  good-humour  this  evening. 

"  There  !  there  !" — as  she  was  running  his  cup  over  in  her 
generosity — "  you  mean  I  shall  have  enough  this  evening, 
Aunty?" 

"  Sure  and  yes,  hinney !  ye  should  be  afther  ateing  enough 
while  ye've  the  convaniences  and  the  bowels !" 

"  But  Aunty,  I  say ! — though  I  may  not  always  have  just 
such  luxurious  conveniences  at  hand  as  you  furnish  here,  yet 
I  don't  know  what's  to  spoil  my  appetite." 

"  Ah,  chiel  Dicky !  Chiel  Dicky,  ye'r  ower  brash  !  Them 
long-hair'd  britherin  o'  Satan  will  spile  ye'r  stomach  for  ye 
yet !" 

"Who?  the  Camanches?" 

"What!"  interrupted  young  Allen,  quickly,  while  his 
eyes  glared  a  little,  "are  the  Camanches  about?" 

"  Camanches  aboun !  saft  craythurs  ye  are,  not  to  be 
smellin*  the  wasp-nest  ye'r  pokin'  ye'r  noses  in !  Sure, 
mon,  they'r  thick  as  thrae  in  a  bed,  on  these  pararries : 
This  hare-'em  scare-'em  Dicky,  here,  has  aven  been  plading 

and  inthrating  of  'em  to  ase  him  of  his  wool  for  moonths  and 
M2 


138  THE   TEXAN   VIRAGO 

moonths ;  but  I'm  a  thinkin'  they  won't  hae  it  because  it's 
sun-burnt  and  frizzled.  They  likes  fresh,  slick,  ilely  hair, 
like  yourn,  best,  ninnies." 

This  was  said  with  demure  solemnity,  and  a  side  wink  at 
Dick. 

"  I  hope  they  won't  take  a  fancy  for  mine  !"  said  the  Ten 
nessee  boy,  very  innocently  smoothing  down  his  shining 
black  locks. 

"By  blood!"  said  the  knight  of  the  scissors,  with  a 
hoarsely  savage  intonation,  stroking  rapidly,  at  the  same 
time,  a  huge  moustache,  "  if  they  get  mine,  they'll  have  to 
fight  for  it,  by  G— d  !" 

Aunt  Beck  stared  at  him  with  round,  opening  eyes  for  an 
instant ;  then,  lifting  her  hands  as  if  in  pious  adjuration — 

"  Lord  help  us  ! — a  lone  creetur  ! — how  fierce  he  is  !  Sae 
they  will,  mon,  nae  doubt.  Sorry  the  day  ye  didn't  run  a 
baker's  dizen  of  'em  to  look  at  ye !  The  puir  divils  are 
awful  'fraid  of  the  brush  ;  and  by  the  sainted  snake-killer  ! — 
barrin'  your  nose  and  eyes — but  ye'r  got  the  maist  cantan 
kerous  brush-heap  on  ye'r  shoulders  thar,  that  has  travelled 
since  the  day  o'  guid  King  Macbeth !" 

"I — I  cultivated  them  expressly!"  said  the  sappy  hero, 
half  closing  his  eyes  with  an  excessively  devil-may-care  air, 
and  plucking  and  stroking  yet  more  affectionately  the  rough, 
reddish  thicket  which  covered  alike  his  throat,  face,  and 
head. 

"  Och  !  deary !  and  ye  should  ha'  been  more  mercifuller — 
to  be  scarin'  the  ignorant  salvages  into  duck-fits  so !  Bonny, 
aisy  Dicky,  there,  thinks  physikin'  'em  wi'  lead  pills  is  bad 
enough,  but  ye  are  o'er  cruel  craythurs  wha  coom  fra  the 
States  !  Wait  till  ye  get  to  know  'em  better,  my  darlin',  and 
ye'r  heart  will  be  tenderer  to  'em  !" 

"  Oh,  I  am  quite  tender-hearted,  as  to  that,"  said  he  of 
the  whiskers,  shaking  his  head  to  one  side,  and  putting  on  a 
ferocious  scowl,  which  clearly  contradicted  his  words. 


AND   THE   TAILOR   OF   GOTHAM.  139 

"Bless  your  sowl,  deary,  and  so  you  are.  The  dugs  o' 
the  mither  that  nursed  ye  ain't  safter !  Did  she  gi'  ye  the 
suck-bottle  to  bring  along,  hinney?" 

This  was  too  rich.  Dick  and  his  chain-bearers,  who  had 
been  nearly  bursting  with  smothered  merriment  since  this 
conversation  began,  now  exploded  in  the  most  uproarious 
peals  of  laughter  as  they  jumped  from  their  seats  and  tum 
bled  convulsed  about  the  room.  Young  Allen,  who  had  be 
gun  to  smell  the  rat,  joined  the  laugh,  but  with  more  mode 
ration;  for  he  had  not  seen  enough  of  life,  and  such  life 
especially,  to  exactly  understand  the  characters  about  him. 

The  astonished  tailor  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height ; 
then  opening  his  big  white  eyes  in  a  wild  stare  around  him 
for  a  moment,  assumed  a  lofty  air  of  sneering  indignation  as 
he  threw  out  his  right  arm  towards  the  offenders  grandly, 
and  hissed  from  between  his  teeth — 

"Ye — s — es,  old  woman!  Do  you  just  show  Hector 
Napoleon  Smith  one  of  those  bloody  Camanches  you  seern  to 
be  so  'fraid  of,  if  you  want  to  see  whether  he  is  done  with 
his  suck-bottle  or  no  !" 

"  Dicky !  Dicky,  dear !"  screamed  the  old  woman,  "  where's 
your  pet  Camancha?  Let's  show  it  to  my  darlinV 

"  You  mean  in  the  cigar-box  ?  There  it  is  on  the  shelf, 
outside  the  door." 

Aunt  Beck  bounced  out  of  the  door,  and  in  an  instant  was 
back,  holding  a  cigar-box  in  her  hands,  with  narrow  strips 
tacked  on  the  front.  She  pushed  it  towards  the  face  of 
Hector  Napoleon  Smith. 

"There,  deary!  Don't  faint,  now.  That's  a  Camancha! 
Wouldn't  you  like  to  eat  him  without  salt?" 

Hector  Napoleon  sprang  back  amidst  reiterated  peals  of 
laughter.  He  looked  frightened — no  wonder  ! — for  it  Tas 
one  of  those  famously  hideous  and  loathsome  creatures  of  the 
southern  prairies  called  horned  frogs,  and  which  she  had 
named  her  pet  Camancha. 


140  THE   TEXAN   VIRAGO 

"  What  is  it  ?"  he  gasped.     "  Take  it  away,  woman  !" 

But  Aunt  Beck  still  followed  his  retreating  steps,  pushing 
the  box  under  his  nose  until  it  touched  his  face.  He  struck 
the  frog-cage  aside,  and  pushed  her  rudely  from  him,  as  he 
roared  out  furiously — 

"  Get  away,  you  d d  old  hag  !" 

"  D d  old  hag,  is  it  ? — you  moon-eyed  spalpeen  !  Take 

that !  and  that !"  Heavy  and  fast  she  rained  the  blows  upon 
his  head  with  the  cigar-box,  until  it  split  into  a  thousand 

fragments,  while  she  continued  to  repeat  "D d  old  hag, 

is  it?"  every  time  her  heavy  hand  came  down;  and  then — 
"  The  mither  that  suckled  a  calf  sha'n't  ken  ye  !" 

Her  quick  eye  detected  the  poor  frog  attempting  to  escape 
along  the  floor  of  the  cabin.  Springing  after  it  with  wonder 
ful  activity,  she  seized  it  in  her  fingers,  turned,  and  advanced 
upon  the  poor  tailor  with  the  exclamation — 

"By  the  ghost  of  St.  Patrick,  he  shall  ate  the  Ca- 
mancha !" 

But  Hector  Napoleon  Smith  had  availed  himself  of  the 
short  respite  to  seize  a  heavy  stool  by  the  leg,  and  throw 
himself  upon  the  defensive,  with  his  weapon  upraised  to 
strike.  The  expression  of  the  old  woman,  which  had  been 
merely  that  of  mischievous  deviltry  before,  changed  now  to 
one  of  pitiless  fierceness :  she  put  her  hand  beneath  her 
apron  and  whipped  out  a  pistol  quickly;  then,  laughing 
harshly  as  she  presented  it  at  his  head — 

"  Down  with  it !  ye  terrier-faced  cummudgeon !  In  my 
ain  house,  too  !" 

The  arm  of  the  affrighted  fellow  dropped  to  his  side,  and 
the  stool  fell  to  the  floor.  Looking  somewhat  mollified  by 
this  prompt  obedience,  she  approached  as  he  shrunk  cower 
ing  back  into  a  corner,  with  a  most  ludicrously  gracious  and 
•winning  leer  upon  her  face — 

"Aisy,  my  dear,  aisy!  Sae  bluid-thirsty  a  chiel  as  ye 
Bhall  ha'  it  to  say  he's  ate  a  Camancha  without  salt !"  and 


AND    THE   TAILOR    OF   GOTHAM. 

she  pushed  the  frog  nearer  his  mouth,  which  he  endeavoured 
to  shield  by  throwing  his  arms  pitifully  across  his  face. 

"  Hut !  tut !  nae  scringin',  my  bonnie  pet !  Bite  awa 
bravely!  Bite  awa !"  pushing  it  up  still  closer  to  his  mouth. 

"  Good  God !"  groaned  the  agonized  tailor,  rolling  his 
eyes  about  him,  with  a  wild  look  of  forlorn,  imploring  de 
spair — for  the  filthy  reptile  almost  touched  his  lips,  and  the 
muzzle  of  the  pistol  gaped  like  a  cannon's  mouth  before  his 
swimming  vision. 

"  Ye'll  ha'  it  to  do  !"  said  the  inexorable  old  creature, 
still  following  his  shrinking  face  with  the  frog. 

But  the  joke  had  gone  far  enough,  and  Dick,  who  by  this 
time  had  sufficiently  recovered  from  his  convulsions,  came  to 
the  poor  wretch's  rescue,  and  snatched  the  pistol  from  the 
old  woman's  hand,  as  he  pushed  her  suddenly  back.  Thus 
was  the  horrified  tailor  relieved,  though  the  experiment 
might  have  cost  any  other  man  a  pistol-ball ;  but  Dick  was 
her  favourite,  and  after  abusing  him  a  little,  she  joined  good- 
humouredly  in  the  continued  laughter,  saying,  as  she  turned 
off  about  her  housework — 

"  Sure,  I'm  a  thinkin  the  dear  chiel  will  na  forget  his  first 
taste  o'  Camanches  soon !" 

They  now  resumed  their  seats,  to  finish  the  meal  that  had 
been  so  farsically  interrupted.  Hector  Napoleon  looked 
considerably  chop-fallen  for  awhile.  But  Dick,  who  now 
suddenly  conceived  a  warm  interest  for  him,  consoled  him  by 
exclaiming,  in  an  emphatic  whisper — 

"  Pshaw7 !  never  mind  it !  she's  nothing  but  a  woman ! 
What  man  could  help  himself? — you  were  obliged  to  stand 
it,  or  strike  a  woman  !" 

Perceiving  that  this  sort  of  consolation  took  admirably, 
'  e  proceeded  to  launch  out  for  quantity  with  a  string  of 
direful  stories,  illustrating,  in  highly-imaginative  colouring, 
the  desperate  and  blood-thirsty  traits  of  the  Camanches. 
This  sort  of  rigmarole  romancing  was  addressed  to  the  tailor 


142  THE   TEXAN  VIRAGO 

in  a  low,  confidential  voice,  as  a  man  of  tried  valour,  to 
whom  such  scenes  were  matters  of  course.  Now  and  then, 
in  winding  up  some  story  in  which  cowardice  had  lost  the 
day,  he  would  exclaim,  in  the  most  confident  and  enthusiastic 
manner — 

"  Ah !  that  affair  would  have  ended  very  differently,  had 
you  and  myself  been  only  there!  wouldn't  it?"  and  soon  he 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  victim  caress  the  moustache 
as  affectionately  as  ever,  and  nod  his  head  threateningly  in 
the  affirmative,  as  he  would  drawl  out,  with  the  most  irre 
sistibly  imposing  nonchalance — "  I  ra-a-a-ther  think  it  would." 

This  was  exquisitely  rich  to  Dick's  palate ;  for  not  having 
the  slightest  idea  of  seeing  Camanches  really,  he  had  deter 
mined  to  amuse  himself,  in  crossing  the  prairies  to-morrow, 
by  playing  upon  the  vain-glorious  valour  and  ignorance  of 
the  tailor.  He  accordingly  followed  up  the  "  stuffing"  game, 
until,  before  they  took  to  their  blankets  for  the  night,  Hector 
Napoleon  Smith  was  panting  for  the  battle-field — for  deeds 
of  gory  heroism  and  immortal  daring,  to  be  perpetrated  at 
the  expense  of  the  dusky  skins  of  the  poor  Camanches. 

It  seemed  that  the  tailor  and  the  young  Tennesseean  had 
come  together  by  accident,  both  being  on  their  way  to  Goliad 
on  the  same  errand — namely,  to  get  lands  surveyed,  for  which 
they  had  bought  scrip  purporting  to  be  located  there.  Dick 
found  the  scrip  of  young  Allen  really  of  value,  though  he 
had  some  doubts  of  that  of  the  tailor.  He  started  next 
morning,  soon  after  sunrise,  to  survey  Allen's  land.  Hector 
Napoleon,  of  course,  accompanied  them ;  and  as  they  were 
mounting  to  start,  Aunt  Beck  came  to  the  door  and  screamed 
after  him — 

"  Arrah,  hinney !  and  had'nt  ye  better  take  some  salt 
along,  to-day,  to  put  on  their  tails  !  Camanches  is  hard  to 
catch — they're  a  wee  bit  wild  on  the  prairies,  dear !" 

The  tailor,  who  did  not  seem  to  think  there  was  any  great 
savour  of  the  attic  in  this  sort  of  wit,  merely  muttered  some- 


AND   THE   TAILOR    OF   GOTHAM.  143 

thing  about  a  "d d  old  she-bear!"  and  started  off  into 

a  gallop. 

Dick  continued  the  game  of  last  night,  and  amused  him 
self  by  stimulating,  with  approving  flattery,  the  surplus 
valour  of  Smith.  When  he  would  get  up  a  false  alarm  now 
and  then,  he  would  praise  the  firm  bearing  of  the  valorous 
tailor,  and  hint  how  fiercely  he  knew  he  would  have  charged 
into  them,  had  they  turned  out  to  be  Indians. 

He  thus  worked  the  fellow  up  until  he  became  more  and 
more  bombastically  heroic,  as  they  progressed  with  impunity, 
and  would  now  and  then  let  off  steam  by  dashing  his  horse 
ahead  of  the  party,  jerking  his  gun  to  his  face,  and  eyeing 
along  the  barrel  at  imaginary  Camanches.  Indeed,  to  all 
appearances,  he  was  "crazy  for  a  fight." 

Dick,  who  was  a  good-hearted  fellow,  wished  from  his  very 
core  that  the  enthusiastic  young  gentleman  might  be  gratified; 
but  as  there  seemed  to  him  to  be  no  prospect  of  this,  he  soon 
grew  tired,  chuckling  at  the  effects  of  his  own  mischievous  wit. 

It  was  time  for  business,  for  they  were  now  in  sight  of  the 
line  of  timber  in  which  the  land  lay.  He  now,  for  the  first 
time,  turned  his  attention  to  it ;  and  on  looking  at  his  com 
pass,  found,  to  his  great  mortification,  that  an  indispensable 
screw  of  the  instrument  was  missing.  There  was  nothing 
left  but  to  gallop  back  to  the  cabin  and  get  it,  where  he  sup 
posed  he  must  have  left  it.  He  pointed  out  a  bend  in  the 
line  of  timber  to  the  young  men,  as  the  place  where  the 
land  lay,  and  told  them  either  to  go  back  with  him,  or  pro 
ceed  themselves  to  the  land  and  ride  over  it  until  his 
return. 

The  chain-carriers  had  not  come  out,  for  the  young  men 
were  to  carry  the  chain  themselves.  The  tailor  looked  a  little 
wild  at  this  proposition  to  go  on  there  alone  with  Allen ; 
but  the  young  Western  man,  who  had  become  wonderfully 
cool  and  self-possessed  by  this  time,  said  at  once — 

"  Certainly,  Mr.  Hord !    I  will  fide  on  and  take  a  good 


144  THE  TEXAN  VIRAGO 

look  at  the  land,  while  you  go  back  !"  and  without  waiting 
to  hear  from  the  tailor,  rode  on  as  a  matter  of  course. 

They  proceeded  quite  leisurely.  The  hero  was  in  a  very 
fidgety,  restless  mood,  talking  incessantly,  while  Allen  paid 
little  attention  to  him,  but  regarded  with  great  curiosity  the 
beautiful  scenery  they  were  approaching.  They  were  now 
skirting  up  the  timber  towards  the  sharp  elbow,  or  bend  in 
the  stream,  which  it  bordered.  Like  all  the  small  streams 
of  Texas,  this  was  a  deep  and  narrow  cut.  Immediately  on 
its  brink  the  timber  was  small  and  brushy,  but  farther  out 
into  the  prairie  it  grew  larger  and  more  scattering,  until 
there  was  only  here  and  there  a  great  live-oak  to  dot  its 
surface. 

They  turned  the  sharp  bend,  which  it  happened  was  a 
point  of  thicker  woods,  and  found  themselves  entering  a 
lovely  nook  of  meadow,  with  these  old  live-oaks  scattered  at 
intervals  over  it.  Two  horses,  with  lariats  about  their  necks, 
were  quietly  grazing  among  the  trees,  a  short  distance  from 
them.  They  stopped  in  astonishment,  which  was  not  a  little 
increased  when  two  Indians,  who  had  evidently  been  lying 
upon  the  grass  near  the  horses,  asleep,  sprang  suddenly  to 
their  feet  with  a  hoarse  ejaculation  of  surprise. 

They  were  the  dreaded  Camanches  !  The  young  men  were 
nearly  between  them  and  their  horses.  This,  together  with 
the  sudden  awaking,  seemed  to  confuse  the  warriors  for  a  mo 
ment.  It  was  but  for  a  moment,  when  one  of  them  darted 
for  the  cover  of  a  tree  which  was  nearer  the  horses,  while 
the  other  glided  behind  that  beneath  which  they  were 
sleeping. 

Both  parties  were  too  much  surprised,  at  first,  to  think  of 
usiiig  weapons,  though,  with  the  prompt  instinct  of  his  West 
ern  blood,  young  Allen's  rifle  was  up  to  his  face  very  quickly, 
but  just  in  time  to  be  too  late  for  the  quick  Indians.  Seeing 
the  advantage  they  had  gained,  he  immediately  dismounted 
and  took  the  nearest  tree  himself;  for  on  looking  behind,  he 


AND   THE   TAILOR   OF   GOTHAM.  145 

had  perceived  at  a  glance  that  there  was  nothing  to  hope 
from  the  tailor  in  charging  them. 

That  heroic  person,  in  the  meantime,  was  sitting  stock-still 
and  erect  upon  his  horse,  with  mouth  and  eyes  stretched  to 
their  utmost  capacity  of  extension — staring  before  him  in 
blank,  stupid  astonishment.  One  of  the  warriors  waked  him 
from  his  stupor  very  suddenly  with  an  arrow,  which  glided 
through  the  hairy  thicket  about  his  throat,  and  ripped  up  the 
flesh  considerably.  With  a  quick  sound,  something  between 
a  yelp  and  a  roar,  the  fellow  fell  from  his  horse  into  the 
grass,  and  commenced  rolling  over  and  over  until  he  reached 
the  tree  behind  which  Allen  was  sheltered. 

He  paid  no  attention,  but  fired.  The  keen  ring  of  his 
rifle  echoed  through  the  woods  on  the  stream.  The  reply  to 
it  was  an  Indian  whoop  from  the  same  quarter.  The  Indian 
he  had  fired  at  fell,  but  at  the  same  moment  the  other  sprang 
to  a  tree  still  nearer  to  the  horses,  and  answered  the  whoop 
from  the  woods. 

The  horses  of  the  young  men  had  by  this  time  joined  those 
of  the  Indians,  and  the  rustling  in  the  woods  near,  and  the 
whistle  and  patter  of  arrows  around  him,  told  Allen  that  re 
inforcements  had  arrived.  Things  began  to  look  serious,  but 
the  young  man  only  became  more  cool. 

He  nudged  the  tailor  with  his  elbow,  while  he  was  loading 
his  rifle,  and  told  him  to  keep  a  sharp  eye  upon  those  fellows 
in  the  bush,  and  fire  at  the  first  he  saw;  but  he  would  pay  no 
attention  to  him,  and  lay  upon  the  ground  moaning  about 
the  scratch  in  the  neck  he  had  received.  There  was  no  time 
to  be  lost,  and  Allen,  utterly  out  of  patience,  drew  one  of  his 
pistols,  and  rapping  the  terrified  noodle  sharply  over  the 
head,  muttered  a  threat  to  give  him  the  ball  instantly  if  he 
did  not  raise  himself  and  watch  those  Indians  in  the  bush 
behind  them. 

The  doubly  terrified  fellow  now  rose  on  his  elbow,  and  as 

five  or  six  Indians  boldly  showed  themselves  above  the  bank, 
N  10 


146  THE   TEXAN  VIRAGO 

he  shut  his  eyes  and  fired.  It  chanced  that  the  shot  told, 
and  they  jumped  down  again.  Allen,  in  the  mean  time,  had 
drawn  himself  round  the  tree,  somewhat  out  of  the  range  of 
those  fellows  behind,  and  had  given  his  whole  attention  to 
watching  the  warrior  in  front  of  him,  who  was  determined  to 
get  to  the  horses. 

Allen  and  the  warrior  were  warily  watching  each  other, 
when,  his  attention  being  slightly  attracted  to  see  the  effect 
of  the  tailor's  fire,  the  warrior  took  advantage  of  this  to 
reach  another  tree,  which  placed  him  within  a  few  paces  of 
the  horses.  Allen  immediately  shifted  his  ground,  too,  and 
was  wounded  in  doing  so  by  those  behind.  But  the  wound 
was  slight,  and  he  could  now  cover  perfectly  the  space  yet  to 
be  passed  by  his  subtle  foe. 

All  was  now  as  still  as  death  for  a  few  moments.  The 
tailor  had  forgotten  the  other  barrel  of  his  gun,  and  crouched 
panting  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  in  overwhelming  terror  at 
finding  himself  thus  left  alone.  The  Indians  behind  the 
bank  had  changed  their  tactics,  and  proceeding  farther  down 
under  the  shelter  of  the  bank,  took  to  the  trees  in  the  mea 
dows  ;  and  the  frightened  booby  saw  ten  or  twelve  dusky 
figures  gliding  from  tree  to  tree,  and  rapidly  closing  around 
him. 

Remembering,  in  his  despair,  that  he  had  a  second  barrel, 
he  fired  it  wildly  towards  them,  and  then  throwing  his  gun 
away,  made  with  frantic  speed  for  the  stream  they  had  just 
left.  With  half  a  dozen  arrows  sticking  in  his  body,  he  tum 
bled  headlong  over  the  bank  into  the  water,  and  this  was  the 
last  seen  of  Hector  Napoleon  Smith,  the  heroic  tailor — on 
this  occasion  at  least ;  for  if  the  arrows  did  not  finish  him, 
he  probably  sank  in  the  quicksands  of  the  stream. 

The  Indians,  when  they  saw  this  extraordinary  manoeuvre, 
rushed  forward  towards  Allen  and  the  horses  with  a  yell  of 
triumph,  which,  however,  was  cut  short  by  the  crack  of  his 


AND   THE   TAILOR   OF    GOTHAM.  147 

rifle  and  the  death-shriek  of  the  warrior  in  front,  who  tumbled 
over  among  the  horses. 

Allen's  load  was  out,  and  they  rushed  at  him  again,  think 
ing  they  had  him  now  for  a  surety ;  but  he  ran  as  hard  as  he 
could  for  the  horses,  and  succeeded  in  mounting  into  his  own 
saddle  while  they  were  yet  thirty  paces  behind  him.  He 
might  now  have  made  his  escape  with  ease,  but  the  Indian- 
fighting  blood  of  the  gallant  youth  was  up,  and  he  determined 
to  carry  off  the  horses  too.  He  shot  down  the  foremost  In 
dian  with  his  pistol,  and  while  the  rest  retreated  behind 
trees,  he  started  off  the  three  best  horses  into  a  gallop. 

It  seems  that  there  was  a  large  party  of  Camanches 
camped  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream,  which,  like  many 
others  of  the  country,  was  impassable,  except  at  particular 
points,  on  account  of  the  quicksands  through  which  it  passed. 
The  crossing-place  was  a  mile  above  where  the  collision  had 
occurred,  and  those  who  had  shown  themselves  after  it  had 
commenced,  had  left  their  horses  on  the  other  side,  and 
crossed  to  the  assistance  of  their  companions,  on  a  log,  while 
a  larger  party  had  gallopped  up  to  the  crossing-place,  and 
they  now  made  their  appearance,  thundering  down  upon 
Allen  at  full  speed,  yelling  their  hoarse  war-whoop,  and  clat 
tering  their  lances  against  their  shields. 

This  was  a  sight  one  would  think  formidable  enough  to 
shake  the  cast-iron  nerves  of  a  veteran  Indian-fighter.  But, 
no  !  Allen  had  sworn  to  carry  off  those  horses  with  him  as 
trophies.  He  had  got  a  taste  of  Indian-fighting,  and  found 
it  to  suit  him ;  so  he  coolly  took  his  measures  to  accomplish 
his  purpose,  in  the  face  of  all  these  foes.  It  was  too  late  to 
run  now,  at  all  events  ! 

Reining  up  his  horse  a  little  to  finish  loading  his  gun,  he 
then  let  them  have  his  other  pistol  so  soon  as  they  came  in 
range,  and  as  that  set  a  warrior  to  reeling  in  his  saddle,  it 
somewhat  checked  their  headlong  career.  He  now  threw 
down  his  pistol,  and  drew  his  gun  deliberately  to  his  face. 


148  THE   TEXAN   VIRAGO 

Quick  as  thought  they  stooped  until  they  disappeared  behind 
the  bodies  of  their  wheeling  horses,  and,  sending  a  shower  of 
arrows  at  him  from  under  their  necks  as  they  passed,  were 
soon  out  of  reach  of  his  rifle. 

They  now  commenced  riding  round  him  in  a  rapid  circle, 
so  as  to  confuse  his  aim,  but  closing  up  closer  with  every 
round,  so  as  to  get,  imperceptibly,  within  reach  of  him  for 
their  arrows.  Though  this  was  his  first  fight,  he  had  yet 
listened  with  such  strict  attention  to  Dick's  stories,  that  he 
had  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  the  Camanche  mode  of  fighting, 
and  how  experienced  frontiersmen  managed  them  at  odds. 

He  had  learned  that  they  never  close  upon  a  man  so  long 
as  they  know  his  rifle  is  loaded ;  so  he  started  on  his  three 
horses,  and  whenever  they  had  closed  up  closer  than  he 
liked,  he  would  pause,  and  bring  his  rifle  slowly  to  his  face. 
They  would  instantly  dive  behind  their  horses,  and  wheeling, 
scatter  out  of  reach  of  the  ball.  Then  he  would  push  on 
again  for  a  little  distance,  when  the  manoeuvre  would  be  re 
peated  on  both  sides. 

His  object  was  to  drive  the  horse  into  a  mott,  or  island 
of  timber,  he  saw  about  a  mile  before  him  on  the  prairie.  All 
the  timber  near  him  was  in  possession  of  the  Indians  on  foot ; 
and  he  thought,  as  the  mott  was  small,  that  he  would  be  able 
to  make  good  his  stand  in  it  until  Dick  returned.  But  they 
saw  his  object,  and  the  Indians  on  foot  left  the  timber  and 
made  for  the  mott  to  cut  him  off;  while  those  on  horseback 
redoubled  desperately  their  efforts  to  confuse  him  and  draw 
his  fire  harmlessly. 

They  broke  up  their  line,  and  commenced  dashing,  with 
marvellous  rapidity  and  the  most  hideous  yells,  back  and 
forth,  here  and  there,  before  and  behind  him,  and  would 
even  sweep  past  him — though  going  like  the  wind — close 
enough  to  hit  either  his  horses  or  himself.  This  maddened 
his  horses,  and  they  grew  unruly. 

Poor  Allen  himself  now  began  to  grow  confused  and  diz- 


AND  THE  TAILOR   OF   GOTHAM.  149 

zied  by  the  infernal  maze  of  those  flying  figures  rapidly 
weaving  in  and  out  before  his  eyes.  The  arrows  had  begun 
to  come  faster  and  faster,  as  they  grew  emboldened  by  the 
success  of  the  new  manoeuvre,  and  now  they  flew  thick  as 
hail-stones  about,  and  a  number  of  them  struck  him,  but 
came  from  too  great  a  distance  to  be  fatal. 

Their  movements  were  so  swift,  that  by  the  time  he  had 
concluded  upon  firing  at  a  particular  Indian,  he  would  have 
passed  out  of  reach,  or  else  an  arrow  from  behind  would  tap 
him  and  distract  his  aim.  His  horse  was  deeply  wounded. 
He  saw,  at  last,  that  there  was  no  hope  of  getting  to  the 
mott  alive,  and  desperately  threw  himself  from  the  tottering 
animal,  determined  to  make  a  breastwork  of  its  body,  and 
sell  his  life  as  dearly  as  possible. 

The  Indians  swooped  at  him  like  hawks  upon  the  stoop, 
and  were  nearly  upon  him  when  his  feet  touched  the  ground. 
There  was  no  time  for  parleying  now !  He  fired  steadily, 
and  brought  down  the  foremost  warrior.  At  the  crack  of 
the  rifle  they  swerved  back  a  little,  but  it  was  only  for  an  in 
stant — they  rushed  at  him  with  ferocious  yells ;  for  now  they 
were  sure  of  him  with  his  empty  gun. 

The  gallant  boy  was  panting  from  loss  of  blood ;  but  with 
set  teeth  he  clubbed  his  gun  desperately  for  one  more  blow 
before  he  died,  when  suddenly  there  rang  upon  his  fading 
senses — bang  !  bang  !  bang  ! — a  number  of  guns — a  tremen 
dous  shouting  and  trampling — when  he  sank  to  the  ground 
insensible. 

The  Indians,  who  were  in  the  very  act  of  plunging  a  dozen 
lances  in  his  body,  were  scattered  as  if  a  hurricane  had 
struck  them,  and  Aunt  Beck,  with  Dick  and  the  chain-car 
riers,  their  horses  foaming  with  speed,  leaped  over  him  as 
they  swept  on  in  pursuit  of  the  flying  Camanches. 

All  was  oblivion  with  yOung  Allen  now,  and  until  some 
time  after,  when  a  sudden  sense  of  cold  water  in  his  face  re 
vived  him.  The  men  were  standing  in  a  group  around  him 


150  THE   TEXAN  VIRAGO 

as  he  opened  his  eyes ;  and  Aunt  Beck  stooped  over  him  tc 
bathe  his  temples  from  a  water-gourd. 

"By  the  ghost  of  St.  Patrick,  the  little  bantam  is  only 
stunned !"  said  she,  as  he  opened  his  eyes.  "  Sure  it's  cock- 
a-doodle-doo  ye  may  now,  my  bonny  game-chick;  for  it's 
bravely  ye'r  fleshed  your  spurs  to-day!"  she  continued,  as 
she  patted  him  affectionately  on  the  cheek  with  her  rough 
powder-stained  hands. 

We  took  Allen  to  Aunt  Beck's  tavern,  where  she  nursed 
him  as  tenderly  as  she  knew  how ;  for  the  little  Tennessee 
bantam  had  completely  won  her  heart.  Indeed,  during  the 
weary  and  almost  desperate  illness  which  followed,  the  cha 
racter  of  Aunt  Beck  appeared  in  a  new  light. 

She  watched  by  the  bed  of  this  youth  with  all  the  eager 
and  yearning  watchfulness  of  the  most  affectionate  mother ; 
for  a  long-silent  chord  appeared  to  have  been  once  more 
touched  in  her  rude  bosom,  and  her  youngest — her  fair  boy — 
the  child  of  her  heart,  seemed  to  be  replaced  by  this  young 
stranger,  and  the  hard  and  fierce  virago  was  subdued  once 
more  into  the  woman. 

She  clung  to  young  Allen  ever  afterwards  with  such  extra 
ordinary  and  boundless  affection,  that  he  could  never  bring 
himself  to  leave  her.  His  parents  were  no  longer  alive ;  and 
she  adopted  him,  and,  relinquishing  entirely  her  masculine 
pursuits,  settled  down  into  the  comparatively  mild,  certainly 
superlatively  pains-taking  and  careful  housewife,  and  all  for 
the  sake  of  her  little  Tennessee  bantam,  as  she  sometimes 
called  him  ever  after. 

Allen  recovered  the  money  she  had  loaned  the  Texas 
government,  and  she  gave  it  to  him ;  whereupon  he  prospered 
greatly,  and  is  now  a  distinguished  man  in  the  new  State. 
Dick  and  he  continue  warm  friends  to  this  day. 

Several  days  after  the  fight,  a  haggard,  ghastly  wretch — 
who,  as  Aunt  Beck  said,  "  looked  like  a  ghost  playing  boo- 
peep  through  a  hole  in  a  bear-skin !" — came  crawling  up  to 


AND   THE  TAILOR  OF   GOTHAM.  151 

the  door  of  "  The  Tavern,"  and  begged  a  morsel  of  food  in 
God's  name.  After  some  difficulty  they  recognised  the 
poor  rascal  Smith. 

He  had,  it  seemed,  sunk  in  the  quicksand,  hut  had 
managed  to  sustain  himself  by  a  drooping  limb  or  twig ;  and 
then,  after  all  was  quiet,  had  dragged  himself  out  by  its  aid. 
Starvation,  and  the  long  cold  bath  he  was  compelled  to  take, 
had  prevented  his  wounds  from  killing  him.  How  he 
managed  to  get  back  in  his  weakened  condition  nobody  can 
tell,  not  even  himself.  The  old  woman,  at  the  solicitation 
of  Dick,  took  care  of  him  until  he  recovered  his  strength. 

But  Hector  Napoleon  Smith  was  "a  done-over  tailor!" 
His  two  experiences  of  Camanches  quite  sufficed  him ;  and 
with  a  very  humble  opinion  of  himself,  Texas  in  general,  and 
Aunt  Beck's  tongue  in  particular,  he  mounted  his  horse  one 
fine  morning  with  the  intention  of  putting  as  much  earth  and 
water  as  possible  between  himself  and  such  "dem'd  peculiar 
doing !" 

Aunt  Beck  screamed  after  him — 

"  Arrah,  darlin' !  and  the  naixt  time  ye  gang  Camancha- 
hunting,  ye'll  na  forgie  the  salt  to  pat  on  their  tails  ?" 


DEATH  OF  LITTLE  RED-HEAD. 


DEATH  OF  LITTLE  EED-HEAD. 


THE  time  of  Secret  Societies  is  not  yet  passed — at  all 
events,  we  believe  that  many  of  them  still  continue  to  exert 
a  wide  and  powerful  influence,  little  realized  in  our  common 
place  world.  It  is  too  much  the  outward  manner  of  the 
times  to  sneer  at  the  power  of  confederacies,  though  they  are 
feared — nay,  dreaded — with  a  peculiar  sort  of  vehemence, 
and  frequently  even  with  superstition. 

We  mean  to  assert  nothing  disrespectful  of  such  institu 
tions  in  general,  and  of  their  results  in  particular ;  for  we  do 
believe  that,  in  spite  of  the  Inquisition,  they  have  been 
most  important  agents  and  means  of  progress.  The  deepest 
truths  must  come  out  of  the  heart  of  the  world,  whence  they 
are  worked  up  by  the  pale  and  begrimed  miners  of  thought, 
towards  the  surface,  until  the  ruddy  children  of  the  sun 
can  grasp  them,  and  they  become,  in  their  robust  hands, 

REALITIES  ! 

So  with  the  principle  of  these  Societies  generally.  The 
object  to  be  attained  is  most  usually  what  is  called  a  romantic 
or  impracticable  one,  and,  of  course,  not  strictly  orthodox — 
therefore,  secrecy  may  be  required  to  prevent  controversy. 
In  a  word,  we  do  not  undertake  to  defend  such  organizations, 
but  simply  to  assert  their  existence  in  much  greater  numbers 
and  power  than  men  are  generally  disposed  to  believe ;  and, 
whether  for  evil  or  for  good,  their  tremendous  influence  upon 

the  times. 

155 


156  DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

Most  of  the  pretended  revelations  with  regard  to  them 
have  been  proven  to  be  false,  and,  of  course,  from  the  very 
theory  of  their  principle,  we  can  only  really  know  of  them  by 
their  effects.  It  is  exclusively  from  such  a  point  of  view  that 
we  would  presume  to  speak.  Such  Societies  have  existed,  and 
do  exist  among  us,  and,  as  elsewhere,  have  exerted,  and  do 
exert  a  most  extended  influence.  The  distance  and  division 
between  North  and  South  have  been  more  felt  than  expressed 
through  such  organizations  than  otherwise — therefore,  it  is 
with  effects  that  we  propose  to  deal  in  this  narrative,  rather 
than  causes,  which  we  must  beg  leave  to  have  in  a  great 
measure  inferred ! 

Years  ago,  before  Texas  was  known  as  more  than  a  wild 
province  of  Mexico,  there  existed  an  extensive  and  powerful 
association  within  the  limits  of  our  own  territory,  the  opera 
tions  of  which  were  extended  to  a  greater  distance  than  was 
dreamed  of  by  many  of  the  most  able  and  shrewd  men 
of  the  day.  It  is  unnecessary  to  particularize  further  the 
motives  and  methods  of  such  an  institution,  than  to  say  that 
it  was  founded  in  a  grasping,  stern,  but  deep  intelligence, 
and  had  for  its  objects  what,  at  that  time,  would  have  been 
considered  merely  vague  and  wildly  impossible  schemes  of 
territorial  acquisition,  which,  having  been  suggested  by  the 
most  boldly  unprincipled  man  our  country  has  produced, 
have  been  perpetuated  by  some  of  its  most  able,  since,  to 
a  dazzling  consummation.  We  cannot  reveal  more  than 
glimpses  of  the  methods  pursued,  and  that  rather  by  implica 
tion  than  by  explanation. 

It  suffices  to  say,  that  young  men  were  in  some  demand  by 
them — but  that  they  were  young  men  of  peculiar  character. 
Agents,  everywhere  in  the  principal  cities,  such  as  New 
York  and  New  Orleans  particularly,  kept  their  treacherous 
eyes  secretly  upon  the  movements  of  such  young  men  as 
made  themselves  conspicuous  for  spirit,  and  were  known  to 
be  of  good  families  and  education.  The  more  dissolute  the 


DEATH    OF   LITTLE    RED-HEAD.  157 

better,  so  they  were  truly  courageous.  There  was  use  for 
such  men  towards  the  South,  and  many  such  were  redeemed 
from  gambling  hells  or  dragged  from  the  stews  by  a  power 
of  which  they  knew  nothing  but  its  munificence  and  its  impe 
rious  dictation. 

Mark  Catesby  was  a  man  capable  of  much  that  was  both 
good  and  evil,  as  are  all  those  who  are  capable  of  any  thing 
worth  mentioning.  His  family  was  good ;  his  father,  a 
wealthy  Englishman,  had  brought  over  his  property  to  this 
country,  along  with  his  prejudices  and  habits.  He  had  set 
tled  in  New  York,  as  metropolitan,  and  lived  in  lordly  style. 
He  was  munificent  as  he  was  haughty,  and  had  one  vice 
which  soon  told  upon  a  large  estate. 

He  gambled  desperately,  and  died  with  the  reputation  of 
great  wealth,  leaving  his  son  to  inherit  both  his  vices  and  his 
insolvency. 

The  son  inherited  both  his  vices  and  his  virtues ;  but  a 
poor  sister  was  all  that  was  left  now  to  love.  He  became 
more  reckless  than  before,  after  the  last  blow  that  took  from 
the  two  their  only  surviving  relation  on  the  continent,  and, 
in  the  heat  of  wine,  made  a  heavy  bet  that  ruined  him  utterly. 
His  sister  was  an  accomplished  artist,  and  surveyed  with 
comparative  calmness  the  wreck  of  every  thing,  and  bravely 
struggled  to  uphold  the  brother  who  was  so  dear  to  her. 

He  was  a  reckless  young  man,  haughty  to  excess,  and 
filled  with  a  blind  family  pride.  When  the  great  misfortune 
had  been  fully  realized  by  them  both,  it  was  finally  deter 
mined,  amidst  his  despair,  through  the  advice  of  their  old 
family  lawyer,  that  the  young  man  should  commence  the 
practice  of  a  profession  he  had  studied  with  effect — the  law. 
The  brave  young  sister  persuaded  him  too,  after  a  long 
struggle,  to  permit  her  to  trust  her  own  support  to  her 
pencil. 

Such  were  the  determinations  on  all  sides,  when  a  myste 
rious  intervention  came  to  give  a  new  direction  to  events.  A 


158  DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

duel,  attended  with  shocking  and  fatal  results,  occurred.  It 
had  grown  out  of  the  gambling  debts  of  Mark,  and  of  course 
left  the  already  gloomy  condition  of  things  involved  in  still 
greater  gloom.  He  was  not  a  party,  but  the  cause ;  and  as 
neither  party  survived,  he  alone  was  left  to  bear  the  blame. 

To  take  the  most  reasonable  view  of  the  case,  as  Mark  was 
the  only  person  left,  immediately  accessory  to  the  fact,  all  the 
public  indignation  and  regrets  were  visited  upon  his  devoted 
head.  He  was  denounced  in  every  way,  and  shamefully  perse 
cuted  by  the  press,  until  his  frank  and  sagacious  friend,  the 
old  family  lawyer,  advised  him,  by  all  means,  to  go  from  the 
city,  and  commence  a  career  somewhere  else,  under  more 
favourable  auspices.  Although  the  good  old  man  was  willing 
to  do  any  thing  in  his  power,  or  within  the  limit  of  his 
means,  to  assist  the  son  of  his  formerly  munificent  patron, 
yet  the  truth  was,  that  his  own  benevolent  habits  had  so 
straitened  his  resources,  that  he  could  do  little  more  than 
advise. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  Mark  one  day  re 
ceived,  to  his  great  astonishment,  a  letter  containing  a  draft 
for  a  considerable  sum.  The  letter  bore  the  city  post-mark, 
and  gave  no  explanation,  further  than  the  words : — 

"  Go  to  New  Orleans ;  a  good  practice  awaits  you.  Be 
silent,  and  you  shall  hear  again." 

The  sum  was  sufficient  to  rescue  him  from  his  embarrass 
ments,  and  to  leave  his  sister  in  comfort ;  but  yet  this  myste 
rious  donation  both  shocked  his  pride  and  roused  his  anger. 
What  could  it  mean  ?  Who  should  dare  insult  a  Catesby  by 
the  offer  of  such  a  gift  ?  He  was  not  yet  so  poor  as  that ! 
and  he  threw  down  the  letter  in  a  burst  of  rage  and  rushed 
out  of  the  house.  His  sister  heard  his  hurried  exit,  and, 
entering  his  room,  picked  up  the  letter  and  draft  from  the 
floor.  The  moment  she  saw  the  signature,  which  was  only 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD.  159 

"Regulus,"  her  face  blanched,  her  eyes  shot  fire,  and  she 
sank  upon  an  ottoman.  A  shudder  ran  through  her  frame, 
her  lids  drooped,  and  for  several  hours  she  sat  motionless, 
with  her  hands  clasped  before  her,  while  tear  after  tear 
coursed  each  other  down  her  cheeks. 

But  now  the  silent  struggle  was  over.  She  rose  with  a 
deep  sigh,  as  her  brother's  hurried  ring  was  heard,  and, 
taking  up  the  papers,  met  him  in  the  parlour.  He  was  much 
flushed,  and  deeply  excited.  She  took  his  hand  calmly,  and 
led  him  to  the  sofa,  still  holding  the  papers  in  her  hand. 

What  was  the  purport  of  the  long  and  earnest  conversation 
of  these  two  young  persons,  we  are  not  prepared  at  present 
to  reveal.  The  result  was,  that  the  draft  was  cashed — the 
sister  established  as  an  artist  in  neat  rooms  on  Broadway — 
and  one  week  from  that  time  the  brother  was  on  his  way  to 

New  Orleans. 

****** 

It  was  the  early  spring  of  this  year,  but  one  of  those  rare 
days,  when  the  sun,  tired  of  his  icy  bondage,  bursts  upon  the 
earth  with  a  sudden  warmth  of  glory  that  startles  all  nature 
out  of  her  chill  repose  into  a  soft  dreamy  state,  half  waking 
and  half  sleeping.  Bird,  insect,  the  open  blossom,  air,  cloud, 
and  water,  responded  lovingly  to  the  call  of  their  mother,  thus 
awakened,  and  for  her  sang  in  chorus  songs  of  sweetest  har 
mony. 

Filled  with  the  exquisite  loveliness  of  the  day,  Catesby 
lingered  upon  his  accustomed  evening  ride,  falling  uncon 
sciously  into  a  sympathy  with  the  hazy  dreaminess  around 
him.  Lost  in  the  one  delightful  sense  of  living,  of  breathing 
the  fresh  luxurious  air,  he  wandered  along  the  river's  bank, 
utterly  unheeding  the  danger  by  his  side.  He  rode  along 
the  crumbling  levee,  and  although  a  tremendous  flood  was 
rising,  hurled  down  from  an  icy  home  far  back  on  the  moun 
tains  of  the  west,  so  much  was  he  absorbed  as  not  to  notice 
that  the  slight  embankment  along  which  he  rode  was  trem 


160  DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

bling  beneath  his  horse's  feet.  Living  and  being  were 
enough  for  him ;  for  Mark  had  been  fortunate  lately !  and 
rode  with  the  consciousness  of  a  man  well  to  do  in  the  world. 
Business  had  been  urged  upon  him  in  such  an  astonishing 
way,  that  he  could  not  but  regard  New  Orleans  as  a  real  El 
Dorado  to  spirited  young  lawyers.  Although  it  had  usually 
taken  the  old-fashioned  men  of  his  profession  more  than  half 
a  lifetime  to  get  into  a  good  practice,  Mark  had  found  his 
youthful  talent  appreciated  in  so  extraordinary  a  degree, 
that  he  had  almost  come  to  regard  the  talent  of  these  "  old 
fogies"  of  the  bar  with  sovereign  contempt.  In  fact,  business 
had  flowed  in  upon  him  in  a  greater  than  usual  proportion, 
and  although  he  could  not  help  an  occasional  feeling  of  dis 
trust  and  anxiety,  in  regarding  the  strange  and  unsolicited 
commissions  sent  to  him  from  unexpected  quarters,  yet  who 
is  really  angry  with  prosperity,  in  the  worldly  sense  ?  He 
congratulated  himself  upon  his  own  merit  and  legal  skill,  and 
was  supremely  satisfied  that  a  Catesby  could  not  know  want. 
The  fact  was,  that  Mark  possessed  a  great  deal  of  cleverness 
in  his  profession,  and  though  his  success  was  rather  mysterious 
and  extraordinary  for  so  young  a  man,  and  one  living,  too, 
in  a  strange  and  almost  foreign  city,  yet  it  was  deserved,  for 
the  sake  of  his  sister,  if  not  entirely  and  in  strict  justice  for 
his  own. 

It  was  the  year  of  a  tremendous  freshet,  and  the  planters, 
with  that  sharpened  experience  which  a  long  series  of  losses 
gives,  had,  for  a  week  past,  detected  the  symptoms  of  the 
coming  flood,  and  had  been  at  work  with  all  their  force  in 
strengthening  the  weak  places  of  the  levee,  in  dread  of  the 
formidable  "crevasse."  The  timbers,  ropes,  &c.,  extending 
over  the  furious  current,  were  therefore  frequent  along  the 
bank ;  but  Mark  was  too  much  absorbed  to  notice  what  waa 
indicated  by  these  signs.  His  thoughts  were  in  other  scenes, 
and  that  fair  sister  that  he  loved  filled  all  his  heart.  The 
young  man  had  never  loved  with  passion.  She  alone  oc- 


DEATH    OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD.  161 

cupied  his  thoughts  as  yet,  and  he  had  hardly  realized  that 
there  was  a  stronger  tie  on  earth.  His  life  had  yet  been  un 
settled,  though  not  profligate,  in  this  respect;  and  as  he 
worshipped  that  dear  sister,  so  he  invested  other  women  with 
a  sacred  and  delicious  veneration,  becoming  to  a  nature 
purely  chivalrous. 

He  looked  down  into  the  dark  and  swollen  flood,  compar 
ing  its  onward  course  to  his  own  wild  life.  It  was  still  with 
him  the  spring-time.  The  summer  that  could  calm  those 
mighty  waters  into  a  smooth  and  placid  current  had  not  yet 
overtaken  him. 

He  had  now  come  in  sight  of  the  old  and  well-known  con 
vent.  He  looked  at  the  curious  and  familiar  building,  ex 
amining  its  walls,  its  windows,  its  gates,  with  a  sort  of  dim, 
prophetic  feeling,  that  somehow  with  it  his  own  destiny  was 
strangely  mingled. 

Suddenly  the  small  gateway  opened,  and  a  single  female 
came  out  from  the  sacred  precincts.  His  heart  throbbed, 
though  he  could  not  have  told  why ! 

That  she  was  young,  he  saw  by  her  free,  graceful  carriage. 
That  she  was  beautiful,  he  felt  by  an  admonition  stronger 
than  reason.  An  irrepressible  desire  to  see  her,  which  he 
probably  mistook  for  natural  gallantry,  grew  within  him. 
He  urged  his  horse  onward,  and  as  she  was  walking  in  a 
direction  parallel  with  him,  he  was  soon  gratified  by  the  sight 
of  one  of  the  most  exquisitely  lovely  faces  that  had  ever 
shone  upon  him  this  side  of  dreamland. 

And  like  a  dream  it  vanished ;  for  of  a  sudden  the  levee, 
or  raised  bank,  crumbled  beneath  his  horse's  feet,  and  horse 
and  rider  were  precipitated  into  the  mad  waters. 

The  current  was  fearfully  swift,  and  the  young  man  was 
hurled  with  stunning  violence  against  some  beams  that  ex 
tended  beyond  the  levee  over  the  stream,  and  which  had 
been  used  in  repairing  the  damages  of  the  freshet.  There 

were  a  number  of  ropes  strewed  about.    The  girl,  who  turned 
02  11 


162  DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

her  head  at  the  splash,  rushed  immediately  to  the  rescue,  and 
screamed  at  the  same  time  an  alarm  to  some  labourers  a 
short  distance  below.  Without  waiting,  however,  for  their 
arrival,  she  promptly  threw  a  rope  to  Mark,  who,  although 
considerably  stunned,  had  consciousness  enough  left  to  grasp 
it.  His  horse,  snorting  and  struggling  desperately,  was 
swept  past,  and  went  down  the  torrent.  The  frail  girl  leaned 
her  body  against  a  post  which  had  been  sunk  as  a  sort  of 
pivot  into  the  levee  for  the  arms  of  the  rest  of  the  machinery 
to  work  upon,  and  giving  the  rope  a  turn  about  it,  was 
enabled  to  hold  on,  even  with  her  small  hands,  until  the  la 
bourers  came  to  her  aid. 

They  drew  poor  Mark  up,  more  dead  than  alive ;  for  the 
force  of  the  current  had  bruised  him  terribly  against  the 
very  obstacle  that  saved  him.  When  he  recovered  conscious 
ness,  he  was  in  a  convent,  and  a  fair  watcher,  with  dark 
lustrous  eyes,  was  bending  over  him. 

Days  passed,  and  Mark  Catesby  would  have  scorned  to 
call  himself  any  thing  but  strong  and  well,  had  he  been  in 
the  tent — were  the  field  before  him ;  but  it  was  so  beautiful 
to  be  an  invalid  with  so  gentle  a  nurse  to  minister  to  him, 
his  strength  would  not  come  !  With  ever  so  cunning  skill 
let  his  tonics  be  prepared  by  the  wise  men  of  medicine,  still 
lingered  his  strength  back  in  the  chamber  of  sickness. 

But  this  could  not  last  always.  He  had  to  get  well — poor 
sinner ! — at  last — and  about  this  time  old  Garcia,  the  father 
of  this  sentimental  young  lady,  made  his  appearance  in  New 
Orleans,  and  on  the  same  day,  at  the  convent.  He  had  a 
long  interview  with  his  daughter,  the  result  of  which  was 
rather  a  significant  one.  She  was  immediately  removed 
from  the  convent. 

Love  has  strange  instincts  !  Mark  was  not  wrong  in  obey 
ing  the  mysterious  letter  he  received  about  this  time,  (and, 
indeed,  immediately  after  the  disappearance  of  this  beautiful 
and  tender-seeming  hourie,  who  had  haunted  his  bedside,) 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE    RED-HEAD.  163 

which  ordered  him  immediately  to  the  frontier-town  of  a 
country  then  little  known,  except  through  vague  report. 

All  that  he  knew  of  his  love  was,  that  she  was  a  Spaniard 
— or  of  Spanish  descent.  As  she  was  undoubtedly  of  this 
race  on  one  side  or  other,  and  most  probably  of  an  exiled 
Mexican  family,  he  had  a  faint  hope  that  he  might  meet  her 
in  the  direction  indicated  by  this  despotic  missive,  which  he 
had,  by  the  way,  learned  to  venerate  in  a  singular  manner. 
Commands  had  come  to  him  by  this  one  formidable  signa 
ture — 

"Regulus!" 

He  had  tried  to  disobey.  He  dared  not — and  the  reason 
he  could  not  have  told,  for  his  life.  He  did  obey.  He  sur 
rendered  his  practice — he  gave  up  every  thing.  In  a  word^ 
he  went  to  Texas  I 

Our  story  is  here  too  sadly — we  might  say,  madly  true — 
so  far  as  we  can  remember  the  incidents  as  detailed  to  us  by 
one  of  the  mutilated  survivors  of  this  extraordinary  affair. 

Our  narrator  was  a  member  of  a  distinguished  family  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  had  formerly  held  the  rank  of 
lieutenant  in  the  United  States  navy.  An  ungovernable  lust 
for  wild  adventure,  fired  by  the  vague  and  bewildering  ro 
mance  which  was  just  beginning  to  invest  all  the  details  we 
could  then  obtain  of  the  life  upon  this  dangerous  frontier, 
had  induced  him  to  throw  up  his  commission  and  repair 
thither,  accompanied  by  a  few  young  adventurers  like  him 
self. 

They  reached  San  Antonio  de  Bahai,  through  great  perils, 
for  at  that  time  nearly  the  whole  route  was  infested  by  bands 
of  various  Indian  tribes,  that  have  since  been  reduced  to 
complete  subjection,  or  entirely  exterminated. 

They  found  the  old  Spanish  town,  of  nearly  three  thousand 
inhabitants,  very  coolly  domineered  over  by  a  little  squad  of 
eight  or  ten  Americans,  who,  as  military  traders,  adven 
turers,  and  desperadoes  in  general,  carried  things,  with  a 


164  DEATH    OF    LITTLE    KED-HEAD. 

high  hand,  pretty  much  in  their  own  way.  They  ostensibly 
recognised  the  city  government,  as  well  as  that  of  Mexico ; 
but  as  they  did  not  hesitate  to  shoot  or  bully  any  one  of  the 
officers  of  either  who  might  venture  to  make  himself  too 
officious,  these  valorous  gentlemen  were  very  glad  to  wink  at 
any  misdemeanours  they  could  not  avoid  seeing.  Though 
hated  by  all  classes  of  the  Mexicans  with  a  deadly  hatred, 
these  adventurers  knew  too  well  their  own  value  to  labour 
under  any  very  serious  apprehensions  of  any  outbreak  of 
this  feeling,  further  than  an  occasional  fray  in  a  gambling- 
hell  or  pulque-shop. 

They  had  to  look  out,  to  be  sure,  in  passing  dark  door 
ways  or  rounding  corners,  not  to  hug  either  too  close,  for  the 
assassin's  blade  is  the  only  one  the  Mexican  wields  with 
effect.  But  this  made  little  difference  with  these  reckless 
men,  who  scorned  the  apprehension  of  danger  in  any  form  at 
a  Mexican's  hand,  though  they  took  good  care  to  keep  their 
eyes  open,  nevertheless. 

The  true  secret  of  their  power  lay  far  enough  beyond  the 
civic  limits,  for  the  Mexican  inhabitants  dreaded  more  than 
any  thing  else  on  this  earth — or  in  purgatory,  even — the 
annual  descents  of  the  Camanche  tribes  from  their  impene 
trable  mountains.  These  audacious  plunderers  had  never 
yet  received  a  single  salutary  check  upon  this  frontier  until 
the  appearance  of  a  few  North  Americans  in  Bahai ;  and 
though  they  had  received  from  these  some  severe  lessons,  yet 
they  had  not  yet  been  entirely  sufficient  to  inspire  them  with 
that  remarkably  wholesome  respect  for  the  rifle  which  they 
have  since  exhibited;  yet  these  had  nevertheless  made  them 
somewhat  shy,  as  the  matter  between  them  had  finally  come 
to  be  settled  by  a  sort  of  tacit  arrangement  of — "  You  let  me 
alone — I  let  you  alone." 

We  cannot  say  that  this  agreement  had  at  any  time  been 
too  strictly  kept  on  either  side ;  but  as  the  bickerings  and 
animosities  between  the  adventurers  and  the  Mexicans  had 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD.  165 

become,  day  by  day,  more  and  more  deadly  on  one  side,  and 
ferociously  contemptuous  on  the  other,  they  had  at  last  come 
to  regard  the  outrages  of  their  natural  enemies  upon  this 
malignant  and  treacherous  population  with  a  jeering  indif 
ference,  and  enjoyment,  even,  that  was  terribly  galling. 

As  they  now  pretty  much  confined  themselves  to  looking 
out  for  their  own  interests  and  keeping  neutral,  the  Ca- 
manches  soon  took  the  hint,  and  did  not  disturb  them  or 
their  property,  unless  on  occasion  when  the  temptation 
thrown  in  their  way  proved  too  strong,  and  then  I  suppose 
they  thought  the  fault  lay  most  at  the  door  of  the  Americans 
— who,  knowing  their  weakness,  should  not  have  subjected 
them  to  so  severe  a  trial :  though  the  result  usually  was,  a 
sound  drubbing  the  first  time  they  could  be  caught.  Yet  as 
no  very  serious  disparity  in  accounts  had  arisen  in  the  long 
run,  both  parties  were  willing  to  be  content  in  not  exacting 
too  strict  a  settlement  every  time  they  met. 

Matters  had  been  standing  in  this  position  for  some  time, 
and  the  Mexicans  were  becoming  rapidly  impressed  with  the 
profoundest  conviction  that  they  had  been  unduly  thankless 
for  the  goods  the  gods  had  sent  them  in  the  person  of  the 
redoubtable  borderer,  Captain  Red,  or  "Little  Red-head," 
as  the  Indians  had  christened  him,  from  the  fiery  colour  of 
his  hair,  and  his  formidable  band  of  riflemen  :  they  were 
accordingly  of  late  fawningly  endeavouring  to  propitiate 
them,  and  make  every  amends  for  the  past. 

But  no  !  The  sturdy  and  reckless  adventurers  treated 
them  with  more  galling  mockery,  which  they  bore  with  only 
increased  servility.  No  creature  on  earth  is  so  pitifully  sub 
servient  as  the  Mexican  when  the  "  time  of  his  fear  cometh." 
They  well  knew  this  trait,  and  greatly  amused  themselves  in 
drawing  out  these  servile  and  unconscious  traits,  which,  of 
course,  became  more  and  more  ludicrous  to  the  Americans  at  the 
usual  time — the  spring — when  the  time  of  the  Camanches'  de 
scent  approached.  They  heaped  indignity  after  indignity  upon 


166  DEATH   OF  LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

them,  and  though  many  a  furious  eye  glared  from  beneath 
the  shadow  of  a  slouched  sombrero  upon  them  as  they  passed, 
the  hand  that  clutched  the  assassin's  knife  dared  not  strike  a 
blow — they  feared  them — they  hated  them — but  they  needed 
them ! 

The  disasters  of  the  last  two  years  had  cowed  them ;  but 
well  the  Americans  knew  that,  once  released  from  their  in 
cumbent  fear,  these  treacherous  slaves  would  turn  upon  them 
with  redoubled  vindictiveness,  and  therefore  scorned  their 
fawning,  as  well  as  their  malignity. 

Matters  were  in  about  the  above  position  when  our  in 
formant,  with  his  three  comrades,  arrived.  They  were  wel 
comed  with  that  reckless  and  bantering  good-fellowship,  which 
is  usually  so  remarkable  towards  countrymen,  among  men 
placed  habitually  in  circumstances  of  great  danger. 

They  were  forthwith  taken  in  hand,  and  with  a  boisterous 
civility,  shown  round  all  the  lions  of  the  place — monte  tables 
— pulque-shops — cock-pits — the  great  cathedral — not  forget 
ting,  you  may  rest  assured,  the  dark-eyed  and  voluptuous 
Senoritas. 

These  preliminaries  over,  the  parties  proceeded  to  business, 
though  in  a  manner  precisely  as  informal  as  every  thing 
else. 

Somebody  proposed,  that  as  they  were  now  strong  enough 
to  whip  all  Mexico,  with  the  Camanche  nation  thrown  in, 
"we  do  hereby  organize  for  the  above  purpose !" 

As  this  was  received  with  tremendous  applause,  and  as 
nobody  was  of  course  thought  of  as  leader  but  Captain  Red, 
the  next  question  was,  "What  shall  our  name  be?"  Several 
rather  romantic  names  having  been  proposed  by  the  younger 
members,  and  which  did  not  prove  entirely  satisfactory  to  the 
rest  of  the  company,  at  last  the  captain  arose.  He  was  a 
man  below  the  average  height,  with  a  head  most  resembling 
that  of  a  Scotch  terrier,  with  its  wiry,  bristling  hair  on  fire, 
ttxcept  that  the  bushy,  freckled  face,  and  round,  quick  eyes> 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD.  167 

were  dignified  by  a  broad,  yet  low  forehead,  of  almost  snowy 
whiteness,  while  the  stiff,  heavy  eyebrows  fairly  blazed  in 
contrast  along  its  rim. 

This  singularly-looking  person  merely  remarked  in  a  sharp, 
quick  voice — 

"  Boys  !  it's  no  use  with  that  nonsense  !  We're  going 
to  take  care  of  a  pretty  big  range  around  here,  and  why 
shouldn't  we  call  ourselves  Rangers  ?" 

"  Good  !"  "  Good  !"  "  That's  the  figure !"  "  That's  the 
name  for  us  !"  "  Hurrah  ! — Three  cheers  for  Captain  Red  !" 
"Now  three  for  the  Texas  Rangers!"  was  uproariously 
shouted  from  as  many  different  voices,  and  the  matter  was 
settled. 

This  celebrated  order,  thus  originating  upon  this  frontier, 
lost  precious  little  time  in  discussing  the  "articles  of  war," 
either  on  that  occasion,  or  on  many  a  one  since,  in  which 
they  have  made  themselves  felt  withal,  and  that  "with  a 
vengeance !" 

They  now  set  themselves  to  work  in  serious  earnest,  each 
man  equipping  himself  at  his  own  expense,  to  regulate  the 
affairs  of  the  Border.  The  country,  when  not  scoured  by 
savage  tribes,  was  suffering  terribly  from  the  maraudings  of 
cut-throat  bands  of  robbers  from  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande. 
These  wretches,  ferocious  as  they  were  cowardly,  committed 
the  most  horrible  outrages  upon  the  feeble  and  almost  de 
fenceless  rancheros  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  along  the  river  San  Antonio,  the  Coleto,  the  Gauda- 
loupe,  and  upon  the  white  settlements  even  of  the  Colorado, 
and  along  the  Brazos  to  the  neighbourhood  of  where  Houston 
now  stands,  on  the  north,  and  down  the  whole  length  of  the 
Nueces  on  the  south.  Whenever  this  daring  little  band 
could  hear  of  such  depredations  in  reasonable  time  for  pur 
suit  of  the  perpetrators,  the  cry  was  instantly  "  to  horse !" 
and  away,  on  their  swift  and  hardy  steeds,  in  the  true  spirit 
of  the  ancient  chivalry,  they  rushed  "  to  the  rescue !"  It 


168  DEATH    OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

mattered  not  to  them  who  were  the  parties — ranchero  or 
white  man,  so  they  did  not  belong  to  San  Antonio — they 
perilled  life  and  limb  to  avenge  their  wrongs,  and  many  a 
wild  deed  of  fierce  and  summary  retribution  did  they  wreak 
upon  those  dastardly  plunderers,  under  the  valiant  lead  of 
the  stern  and  chivalric  "Red,"  whose  name  grew  still  more 
a  word  of  terror  to  robber  or  Camanche. 


"Los  INDIOS!  Los  Indios!  Garracho!  Los  Indios !" 
The  dreaded  cry  of  alarm,  mingled  with  screams  and  wails 
and  yells  of  terror,  suddenly  arose  in  the  quiet,  sunny  square 
of  San  Antonio  de  Bahai,  one  fine  morning  in  the  early 
spring.  In  a  moment,  above  all  these  sounds,  rang  out  in 
hoarse,  unearthly  screeches,  the  wooh !  woo !  woo !  woo ! 
wooh !  of  the  Camanche  war-whoop — while,  driven  pell-mell 
before  the  long,  lithe  lances  of  the  marauders — men,  women, 
and  children,  mingled  with  cattle,  horses,  mules,  pigs,  and 
poultry,  were  tumbled  headlong  over  each  other  through  the 
narrow  streets  into  the  wide  square. 

A  party  of  Americans,  on  a  carouse  in  a  long,  low  stone 
house  that  fronted  the  square  on  the  northern  side,  arose 
quite  deliberately  from  the  table,  and,  with  glasses  in  hand, 
stepped,  with  no  very  steady  gait,  to  the  doors  and  windows, 
to  see  the  "sport,"  as  they  facetiously  called  it — for  they 
understood  the  meaning  of  such  sounds  well  enough. 

Sport  for  devils  it  was,  with  a  vengeance  !  The  frightened 
Mexicans,  bewildered  by  the  suddenness  of  the  thing — for 
this  descent  was  unexpectedly  early — and  by  their  terrors 
together,  were  running  confusedly  here  and  there  about  the 
square — while  the  dark,  fantastically  bedizened  warriors  were 
plunging  to  and  fro  upon  their  swift  and  active  horses, 
trampling  the  panic-stricken  mass,  driving  their  bloody 
lances  through  the  nearest  victims,  of  whatever  sex,  age,  or 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD.  16? 

condition,  and  howling  like  starved  wild  beasts  with  their 
white-fanged  jaws  amidst  a  helpless  prey. 

The  scene  was  sufficiently  horrifying  to  have  appalled  the 
most  ferocious  spirit  of  ruffianism ;  but  our  jollificating 

Americans, 

"Albeit  not  used  to  the  melting  mood," 

seemed  rather  to  enjoy  it  most  decidedly. 

Some  poor  wretches  rushed  towards  the  door  where  these 
drunken  madmen  stood ;  one  or  two  pushed  them  back  with 
their  feet, — "No,  no!  you  infernal  Greasers!  you  can't  get 
in  here !  you've  got  to  take  it  as  it  comes  !"  But,  to  the 
credit  of  human  nature,  Captain  Red  rushed  forward,  pushed 
these  brutes  aside,  and  said — "  ISTo  !  hold  !  shame,  boys  !  let 
them  in." 

He  was  obeyed,  but  with  evident  reluctance  by  some. 
This  humane  act  first  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Caman- 
ches  to  them,  for  they  had  been  too  busy  to  observe  their 
presence  before.  The  warriors  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives 
galloped  almost  up  to  the  door,  when,  recognising  at  a  glance 
the  dreaded  form  of  Little  Red-head,  they  set  up  a  yell  of 
surprise,  and  drew  back. 

In  a  moment  the  news  spread,  and  the  shouts  of  the  chiefs 
soon  drew  together  the  scattered  warriors.  Collected  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  square,  the  Rangers  saw,  to  their  no 
little  surprise,  what  they  had  not  suspected  during  the  confu 
sion,  that  this  was  one  of  the  most  formidable  body  of  Indians 
any  one  of  them  had  ever  seen  together.  What  the  precise 
number  might  be,  no  one  could  do  more  than  make  conjec 
tures,  and  such  passed  hurriedly  through  the  room,  rating 
them  at  from  three  to  five,  six,  and  eight  hundred. 

To  say  that  these  men  were  any  more  than  surprised,  would 
be  absurd,  as  the  sequel  will  show.  They  were  in  a  moment 
or  two  more  boisterous  in  their  hilarity  than  before,  and 
crowded  about  the  door,  drinking,  and  laughing  at  the  forlorn 
appearance  of  the  killed  and  wounded  Mexicans  strewed 


170  DEATH   OP  LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

about  the  square,  and  occasionally  shouting  some  half- 
drunken  jibe  across  the  square  at  the  Camanches. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  clatter  of  hoofs — the  neighing  and 
bellowing  of  their  frightened  owners — had  died  away  through 
the  different  streets  into  which  they  had  made  their  escape ; 
the  crowded  fugitives,  with  their  cries  of  pain,  had  disap 
peared  together  into  the  houses  around  and  nearest  to  the 
square,  and  only  the  laughter  and  shouts  of  the  Americans 
rose  occasionally  above  the  momentary  lull,  of  which  the 
groans  from  the  wounded  made  a  sort  of  silence. 

The  Camanches  gathered  together  in  a  close  squad,  and 
seemed  to  be  holding  a  council  of  war  for  a  few  moments, 
by  gestures,  and  in  such  low  terms  that  nothing  could  be 
heard  from  them ;  when  suddenly,  like  a  flock  of  swallows 
diving  from  an  old  tree-top,  they  broke  up,  scattering  in  all 
directions,  to  come  together  again  in  the  middle  of  the  square 
as  suddenly — hooting,  yelling,  and  shaking  their  lances  in 
'the  faces,  almost,  of  the  Rangers,  as  they  darted  past  the 
door  of  their  quarters. 

As  this  was  merely  bravado,  they  took  no  further  notice 
of  it  than  to  jeer  at  them  in  the  most  insulting  manner :  not 
condescending,  even,  to  step  back  into  the  room  to  fetch 
their  rifles. 

But  when  this  insolent  challenge  to  a  fight  had  been  re 
peated  several  times,  and  at  each  with  some  more  insulting 
demonstration,  the  majority  of  the  party  began  to  become 
incensed.  They  grasped  their  rifles,  and  were  rushing  to 
the  door  and  windows  to  resent  these  indignities,  when  Cap 
tain  Red  again  restrained  them.  This  impunity  only  increased 
the  insolence  of  the  savages,  whose  object  was  clearly  to 
provoke  a  sally  on  the  part  of  the  fiery  Americans ;  but,  if 
some  of  the  men  were  not,  their  captain  was,  cool  enough  to 
understand  this  very  well,  and  to  prevent  it,  especially  as  he 
could  clearly  perceive  their  exultation  at  the  thought  of  hav 
ing  him  at  such  overwhelming  advantage. 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD.  171 

Such  an  infernal  babel  of  whooping,  screeches,  howls,  and 
yells,  as  now  filled  that  square,  was  probably  never  heard 
before  from  the  same  number  of  human  throats.  They  dared 
not — or  rather  it  is  against  one  of  the  fixed  usages  of  their 
warfare — to  charge  upon  a  building  or  enclosure  of  any  kind, 
and  therefore,  when  they  found  they  were  not  coming  forth, 
they  changed  their  tactics  essentially,  for  this  seemed  too 
good  a  chance  to  entrap  their  hated  foe. 

The  main  body  drew  back  to  the  other  side  of  the  square, 
and  dismounting,  laid  their  bows  and  lances  down  at  their 
feet,  and  then  stood  with  folded  arms  at  the  heads  of  their 
horses,  to  signify  that  they  would  be  contemptuous  lookers 
on,  while  a  party  of  only  twenty  picked  warriors  rode  for 
ward  at  a  gallop,  and  when  immediately  in  front  of  the  door, 
a  fellow  among  them,  who  spoke  a  little  Spanish,  dared  them 
to  come  forth  and  meet  them  in  equal  combat,  calling  them 
cowards,  women,  dogs,  and  every  possible  obscene  epithet, 
and  pointing  back  to  the  large  body  of  warriors  behind,  told 
them  that  brave  men  scorned  to  fight  such  white-faced  cowards 
at  disadvantage  of  numbers,  and  that  these  would  not  move 
from  where  they  were  if  that  great  coward  chief,  Little  Red 
head,  dared  to  come  out  and  prove  that  he  was  not  a  feeble 
woman,  &c.  &c. 

The  Rangers,  who  had  now  recovered  their  good-humour, 
only  greeted  this  ludicrous  farce  with  loud  shouts  of  laughter, 
and  twirled  their  fingers  at  them  ludicrously. 

The  savages,  rendered  furious  at  this  failure  of  their — as 
they  supposed — profound  stratagem,  wheeled  their  horses 
suddenly,  and  slapped  their  breech-clouts  at  them  as  they 
galloped  off.  At  this,  the  last  indignity  an  Indian  can  offer 
to  a  foe,  and  which  no  frontiersman  can  or  will  endure,  by 
one  simultaneous  movement  the  Rangers  sprang  to  their 
rifles,  and  let  drive  a  terrible  volley  among  them,  which 
tumbled  nearly  a  dozen  of  the  rash  vaunters  from  their 
saddles. 


172  DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

This  unexpected  retaliation  very  suddenly  awaked  the 
Camanches  up  from  the  delusion  of  impunity,  and  brought 
back  rather  emphatically  to  their  memories  the  kind  of  per 
sons  they  were  dealing  with — for  this  kind  of  conclusion 
had  been  no  part  of  their  calculations.  Their  object  had 
been  to  taunt  the  Rangers  forth  to  meet  them  on  their  own, 
that  is,  open  ground,  where  they  would  have  all  the  advan 
tage  of  numbers  and  of  their  peculiar  modes  of  warfare. 
They  had  thought  that  a  brave  so  noted  for  fierce  courage 
as  was  the  Little  Red-head,  would  not  stop  to  consider  num 
bers,  when  grossly  insulted  after  the  manner  in  which  we 
have  seen,  and,  when  invited  to  come  out  for  an  equal  fight, 
but  would  rush  forth  with  all  his  men  to  meet  the  challenge ; 
when  they  would  have  him  in  their  power,  as  it  would  only 
take  an  instant  to  regain  their  arms,  leap  into  their  saddles, 
and  be  upon  him  before  he  could  possibly  regain  shelter. 
Now,  when  they  saw  some  of  their  most  noted  braves  tum 
bling  from  their  horses  as  the  fruits  of  their  foolish  mistake, 
their  rage  knew  no  bounds  but  that  of  usage,  which  pre 
vented  them  from  storming  a  fortress  of  any  kind,  and  they 
rushed  forward  with  the  horrid  cries  of  infuriated  demons ; 
and,  in  face  of  another  galling  fire  from  the  house,  they  bore 
off  the  bodies  of  the  slain,  by  this  time  considerably  increased 
in  number,  and  shaking  their  lances  behind  them  with  dia 
bolical  gestures  of  menace,  they  passed  clattering  through 
the  town  towards  the  open  plains  on  the  west,  while  the 
taunting  laugh  of  the  Rangers  was  shouted  in  their  ears. 

They  continued  for  an  hour  or  so  to  gallop  to  and  fro  in 
swift  troops,  like  flocks  of  plovers,  over  the  plain,  making  insult 
ing  gestures  and  uttering  cries  of  defiance  in  renewed  invita 
tion  to  the  Rangers  to  come  forth.  Some  of  the  parties,  again 
emboldened  by  their  quiet,  re-entered  the  town,  and  com 
mitted  some  most  infernal  outrages  upon  the  poor  Mexicans, 
which  were  every  now  and  then  reported  to  the  Rangers  by 
some  breathless  messenger — even  carrying  off  a  number  of 


DEATH    OF   LITTLE    RED-HEAD.  173 

handsome  Mexican  girls.  These  cool  gentry  heard  all  this 
with  the  greatest  unconcern,  and  continued  their  carouse  amid 
shouts  of  laughter  at  the  expense  of  the  poor  Camanches. 

Suddenly  the  Little  Red-head,  whose  blood  was  now  up, 
as  he  had  tasted  battle,  sprang  to  his  feet  as  the  shrieks  of 
some  poor  Mexican  women,  who  were  being  dragged  into 
hateful  and  hideous  captivity,  were  wafted  to  his  ears — 

"  Boys,  I  can't  stand  this !  Let's  drive  these  scoundrels 
back  to  their  own  mountains." 

The  words  were  scarcely  spoken,  when  every  man  jumped 
to  his  feet  as  by  one  electric  impulse,  and  sprang  for  his  rifle 
amid  cries  of  approval. 

"  We  can  whip  the  whole  !" 

"  That's  you,  captain  !  We're  your  boys  !  We'll  fan  'em 
out,  the  filthy  thieves,  if  they  are  a  thousand." 

"  Hurrah  for  our  captain  !     He's  some  in  a  brier-patch  !" 

"  We'll  teach  these  dirty  copper-heads  to  come  into  Bahai 
while  Rangers  own  it !  Whoop !  whoop !  hurrah,  boys !  One 
more  glass,  before  we  part  to  get  our  horses !"  said  Captain 
Red,  as  he  filled  his  to  the  brim.  The  rest  followed  suit,  and 
in  another  moment,  amid  the  sounds  of  social  uproar,  these 
men  separated  to  get  their  horses  for  a  ride  on  one  of  the 
maddest  dare-devil  chases  ever  ridden  by  men  before. 

It  took  them  but  a  little  while  to  mount,  for  a  Ranger's 
horse  is  always  ready  at  a  moment's  warning,  as  well  as  his 
arms;  and  with  one  wild  whoop,  which  made  the  terrified 
Mexicans  tremble  and  slink  closer  in  their  corners,  they 
dashed  out  of  town  at  full  speed,  in  the  pursuit. 

When  they  emerged  from  the  streets  of  the  town  and  its 
thin,  straggling  suburb  of  dobey  huts,  they  came  abruptly 
upon  the  broad  plain  of  the  prairie,  which,  after  a  short  dis 
tance,  became  gradually  dotted,  at  wide  intervals,  with  small 
islands  of  timber,  called  "motts."  They  saw,  to  their  no 
small  surprise,  only  a  single  predatory  party,  such  as  wo 

have  spoken  of:  and  this  seemed  to  have  just  issued  from  the 
P2 


174  DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

town,  and  to  be  encumbered  with  plunder  and  prisoners. 
The  hurried  supposition  was,  that  the  other  parties  who  had 
BO  lately  been  in  sight,  must  have  crossed  the  San  Antonio 
River  above,  and  be  entering  the  town  on  the  other  side. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  had  it  been  one  party  or  the  whole 
body  of  the  enemy,  it  would  have  been  all  the  same  to  the 
Rangers ;  so  they  dashed  at  the  one  in  view,  and,  come  what 
might,  they  meant  to  overhaul  it  at  any  rate. 

The  race  soon  became  exciting,  since,  as  the  flying 
party  were  encumbered  heavily,  the  Americans  gained  ra 
pidly  upon  them,  and  were  beginning  to  yell,  in  anticipated 
triumph,  when  they  reached  the  larger  motts,  which  are 
several  miles  out  from  the  town.  Here  the  fugitives  were 
suddenly  joined  by  another  party,  which  glided  out  from  be 
hind  one  of  them,  and  seemed  to  take  a  portion  of  the  em 
barrassing  burdens  upon  themselves — by  which  movement  the 
pace  of  the  first  was  wonderfully  accelerated. 

The  sight  of  this  accession  only  increased  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  Americans,  who  urged  the  race  with  yet  greater 
eagerness ;  for  the  Indians  were  just  about  three  to  one  now, 
and  that  would  afford  them  some  sport.  The  distance  be 
tween  the  two  parties  was  at  once  considerably  increased, — 
for  these  Indians  have  a  wonderful  faculty  of  getting  work 
out  of  their  tough  mountain  horses — so  much  so,  indeed, 
that  they  usually  escape  from  American  horsemen,  even  when 
the  latter  are  better  mounted. 

When  the  chase  had  continued  for  several  miles,  the  Ca- 
manches  either  really  were,  or  appeared  to  be,  losing  ground. 
Their  horses  flagged  in  speed  considerably,  and  when  this 
was  noticed,  Little  Red-head  bent  forward  in  his  saddle,  and, 
yelling  like  a  madman,  lashed  his  horse  until  the  blood  flew 
at  each  whacking  blow,  and  shouting  hoarsely,  "  They're 
ours !  Come  on !"  darted  ahead.  His  party,  as  much  ex 
cited  as  himself,  responded  until  the  welkin  fairly  rang  again 
with  their  fierce  cries. 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE    RED-HEAD.  175 

On  !  on  !  sweeps  the  clattering  race,  hurled  headlong 
over  the  shaking  plain — now  beginning  to  change  its  cha 
racter — which,  heretofore,  had  been  only  diversified  by 
"motts"  of  timber,  scattered  promiscuously  over  the  surface; 
but  now  they  were  approaching  a  long  line  of  thick  timber, 
fenced  along  its  edges  by  a  low  chaparral  of  dense  and  thorny 
growth,  which  was  utterly  impenetrable  to  horses,  and  which 
the  naked  Camanches  would  rather  die  than  attempt  to  ride 
through,  if  it  had  been  possible  for  horses. 

This  the  Rangers  well  knew,  and  they  had  almost  held 
their  breaths  as  they  watched — bending  over  their  horses' 
heads,  with  parted  lips  and  straining  eyes,  to  see  whether  the 
Indians  would  head  in  that  direction,  where  they  were  as 
securely  cornered  as  if  they  had  run  against  a  stone  wall. 
The  moment  it  became  certain  that  this  was  the  direction 
they  were  taking,  there  was  a  universal  burst  of  jeering 
laughter,  rendered  savagely  hysterical  by  the  excited  passions 
of  these  wild  men. 

"Ha  !  ha  !  We've  got  you  now  !"  was  almost  hissed,  in  a 
smothered  voice,  from  between  the  set  teeth  of  Little  Red 
head,  as  they  closed  rapidly  upon  the  flying  savages,  who, 
exhibiting  every  sign  of  terror,  began  to  look  back,  and  drop 
articles  of  plunder. 

"  Ha  !  peeling — disgorging — are  you  ?  I'll  ease  your 
stomachs  for  you !"  muttered  the  leader,  as  he  looked  to 
his  rifle,  which  lay  across  the  saddle  before  him. 

"Let  out  another  link,  boys  !" 

He  shouted  in  a  deep  tone,  as  they  neared  the  wood,  and 
were  now  within  rifle-shot.  The  eager  men  were  beginning 
to  handle  their  rifles. 

"  Hold  on  !  Keep  your  horses  to  the  work  !  Time  enough 
when  we're  among  them !  They  can't  escape  !"  was  the 
prompt  command. 

At  this  moment  the  Indians  reached  the  timber,  and,  one 
after  another,  their  dark  forms  disappeared  within  its  seem- 


176  DEATH   OF   LITTLE   BED-HEAD. 

ingly  impenetrable  bosom — like  a  great  black  serpent,  gliding 
into  its  shadowy  den.  To  describe  the  yell  of  infuriated  as 
tonishment — the  blank,  pale  look  of  surprise,  which  the 
Rangers  exchanged  during  one  brief  instant  of  uncertainty, 
would  be  impossible.  But  the  stern  leader  shouted  quickly — 
"  On,  boys  ! — if  they're  going  below,  we'll  follow  them  !" 
The  men  cheered,  and  they  swept  after  them  into  the 
wood.  One  short  minute  beneath  the  shadows — a  little  time 
of  darkened,  breathless  speed,  and  they  burst  into  the  sun 
light  of  a  prairie  beyond.  Their  eyes  were  dazzled  !  Their 
senses  stunned  !  It  was  but  for  an  instant.  The  harsh  and 
stunning  howl  that  greeted  them  into  this  dazzling  light, 
they  had  heard  before — those  dusky,  hideous  forms,  rush 
upon  them  from  eveVy  side — but  they  had  seen  their  long 
lances  and  feathered  crowns  shake  and  toss  in  fight  before — 
and  though  they  came  like  a  torrent  closing  round  them, 
these  brave  men  were  not  unnerved ! 

The  ring  of  their  rifles  rose  in  deadly  lullaby  over  the 
triumphing  howls  of  successful  strategy — recoiling  the  over 
whelming  waves  in  silence  for  a  moment,  while  the  smoke 
arose — but  then  the  recoil  was  stayed  by  the  tremendous 
rush  from  the  circles  without — for  they  were  in  the  very 
middle  of  a  camp — or  rather  ambush — of  over  three  hundred 
Camanches,  and  only  those  nearest  could  reach  them,  of 
course ;  but  then  this  rush  drove  on  those  before,  upon  them, 
trampling  the  bodies  of  their  own  slain  that  had  fallen  by 
the  first  fire,  and  in  spite  of  the  terrible  execution  done  by 
the  pistols  of  the  Rangers,  the  roaring  tide  hurled  these 
inward  circles  on.  The  Camanches  were  wild  with  ferocious 
exultation — for  here  they  had,  at  last,  entrapped  their  for 
midable  and  most  audacious  foe,  the  Little  Red-head,  whose 
fiery  scalp  was  worth  the  feathered  coronet  of  a  chief  to  any 
one  qf  them.  Terribly  these  barbaric  billows  swayed  and 
rolled  before  the  murderous  fire  of  fifteen  hemmed  and  des- 
Derate  men. 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD.  177 

Pistols  soon  became  useless.  Recoil  after  recoil  of  the 
Indians  had  been  driven  in,  yet  the  relentless  thirst  for 
vengeance  and  that  fiery  scalp  grew  more  and  more  unap 
peasable  ;  and  though  lance  grated  against  lance  in  the 
bodies  of  Ranger  after  Ranger,  and  arrows  flew  like  hail, 
still  this  strange  and  furious  fight  went  on.  The  Rangers 
had  drawn  their  heavy  bowie-knives,  and  were  laying  about 
them  with  desperate  strength,  clipping  off  the  lance-heads 
like  carrot-tops,  as  they  were  frequently  crossed  above  them 
in  the  tumultuous  struggle. 

It  was  a  volcanic  chaos  of  fringed  buckskins — breech- 
clouts — streaming  feathers — rifles — lances — pistols — arrows 
— horses — oaths — knives — death-groans — screams — yells  and 
whoops,  boiling  and  tumbling  wild  beneath  the  smiling  sun 
of  God's  own  blessed,  gentle  spring. 

Ah,  it  was  horrible  enough ! 

It  would  seem  as  if  this  presumptuous  squad  should  have 
been  borne  down  at  once,  and  utterly  exterminated  by  this 
tremendous  pressure ;  but  it  should  be  kept  in  view,  that  the 
Camanches  had  at  that  time  little  knowledge  of  firearms 
beyond  the  effects  from  which  they  had  suffered,  or  been 
witnesses  of,  and  therefore  greatly  amplified  them,  and  indeed 
held  them  in  a  sort  of  superstitious  awe. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  perhaps  the  world  never  witnessed — on 
a  small  scale,  to  be  sure — a  more  remarkable  instance  of  an 
agile,  fierce,  relentless  struggle,  than  this  between  these  few 
men  and  the  comparative  host  by  whom  they  were  surrounded. 
Think  of  it ! — fifteen  to  over  three  hundred  ! — taken  by  sur 
prise,  too ! 

There  was  one  young  man  in  this  doomed  party,  who  had 
acted  wildly  since  they  set  off  on  this  fatal  chase.  He  it 
was  who  had  whispered  hurriedly  in  the  ear  of  Little  Red 
head  something  that,  in  addition  to  the  shrieks  of  women 
they  were  carrying  off,  caused  his  sudden  and  unexpected 

proposition  to  follow  the  Camanches.     He  had  been  one  of 

12 


178  DEATH   OP   LITTLE   RED-HEAD. 

those  who  came  out  in  the  party  with  the  lieutenant  whom  I 
have  mentioned  as  my  informant.  His  real  name  had  not 
been  given.  He  had  been  the  most  eager  and  rash  of  the 
Rangers,  and  had  fought  with  almost  superhuman  fierceness. 
Since  the  moment  of  their  falling  into  this  ambush,  his  ob 
ject  had  seemed  to  be  to  cut  his  way  through  the  over 
whelming  mass  in  the  direction  of  a  group  of  warriors  at  a 
little  distance,  that  took  no  part  in  what  was  going  on,  but 
were  evidently  in  charge  of  the  prisoners.  He  had  even 
taken  the  lead  of  his  captain,  and  by  his  frantic  efforts  had 
succeeded  in  carving  a  bloody  lane  through  the  Indians  to 
this  point.  They  had  evidently  been  impressed  with  a  sort 
of  panic  by  his  incredible  fury,  and  gave  way  before  a  despe 
ration  which  seemed  to  bear  a  charmed  life.  Now  was  the 
time  to  escape,  if  ever ! 

But  his  eager  eye  had  sought  for  one  form  among  the 
prisoners.  There  were  but  three.  The  glance  was  quick  as 
lightning,  but  seemed  to  be  sufficient. 

"  Oh,  God  !  she  is  not  there  !" 

He  rather  shrieked  these  words  than  spoke  them,  turned 
ashy  pale,  and  without  a  word  more,  or  a  single  groan, 
pitched  forward  over  the  head  of  his  horse,  among  the 
trampling  hoofs.  Little  Red-head  was  at  his  side  when  he 
thus  fell,  without  a  wound ;  for,  strangely  enough,  he  had  as 
yet  entirely  escaped.  With  a  strange,  sorrowful  cry,  he 
reigned  in  his  horse,  and  the  last  that  was  seen  of  Little 
Red-head,  twenty  lances  were  meeting  through  his  unresist 
ing  body ;  and  as  the  two  young  men  who  escaped  burst  free 
upon  the  open  ground  again,  and  made  off,  bleeding  with 
many  wounds,  the  demoniac  yells  of  triumph  from  the  Ca- 
manches  echoed  horribly  in  their  ears.  There  was  little 
attempt  made  to  overtake  them,  and  they  got  in  safe — the 
lieutenant  with  the  loss  of  the  finger  and  thumb  of  one  hand, 
together  with  half  a  dozen  body-wounds,  and  his  friend  reel- 
•ng  in  the  saddle  from  the  loss  of  blood  from  as  many  more. 


DEATH   OF   LITTLE   RED-HEAD.  179 

Thus  ended  this  horrible  and  strange  affair,  which,  perhaps, 
has  hardly  a  parallel  in  any  annals.  But  not  the  least  sin 
gular  part  of  it  was  revealed  afterwards. 

From  papers  discovered  among  the  effects  of  Little  Red 
head,  it  appeared  that  this  young  man  was  Mark  Catesby, 
and  that  Red  was  his  natural  brother — an  illegitimate  son 
of  old  Catesby ! 

A  paper  of  instructions  with  regard  to  Mark  was  found, 
too,  containing  the  mysterious  signature  "Regulus,"  and 
which  was  worded  in  the  imperious  language  of  entire  despot 
ism.  What  became  of  the  young  girl  Juliet  Garcia,  we  may 
yet  hear.  That  she  was  snatched  up  on  the  street,  and 
carried  off  by  the  Camanches,  is  all  we  can  say  at  present. 


GABEIELLE: 

THE  WHITE  MARE  OF  CHIHUAHUA. 


GABRIELLE : 


THE    WHITE    MARE    OF    CHIHUAHUA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  remarkable  valley  of  Encinnillas,  which  extends  for  a 
long  distance  north  of  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  on  the  route  to 
Paso  del  Norte,  is  noted  for  its  three  great  haciendas,  and 
for  the  contrasts  in  colours  maintained  in  its  immense  herds 
of  more  than  half-wild  cattle.  The  greatest  of  them,  the 
Hacienda  Encinnillas,  at  the  head  of  the  valley,  contained 
many  thousand  head  of  a  dark-brown,  shaggy  breed,  re 
sembling  the  buffalo  somewhat  in  appearance,  and  still  more 
in  fierceness.  The  next,  Hacienda  Sauz,  contained  a  less 
but  still  very  great  number  of  a  heavier-built  variety,  the 
coats  of  which  were,  with  the  occasional  exception  of  a  few 
small  mottles,  as  white  as  the  bull  Europa  rode ;  while  the 
third,  Hacienda  Torrean,  was  covered  with  herds  of  a  tall, 
slim,  active  animal,  possessed  of  enormous  horns,  and  a 
colour  varying  little  from  uniform  jet-black,  with  sometimes 
a  few  white  marks.  To  a  stranger  moving  down  this  pic 
turesque  valley,  these  marked  and  consistent  contrasts  would 
seem  very  curious ;  but  by  a  provincial,  they  would  only  be 
regarded  with  connoisseuring  interest. 

The  prevalence  of  this  sort  of  fancies  among  the  privileged 

and  hereditary  owners  of  these  great  estates,  and  the  singu- 

183 


184  GABRIELLE : 

lar  extent  to  which  emulation  would  carry  them  in  preserving 
the  integrity  of  their  favourite  colours  throughout  the  whole 
of  their  uncounted'  herds,  were  matters  not  only  of  severe 
criticism,  but  of  sympathetic  interest,  among  all  grades  of 
their  countrymen. 

Some  years  since,  an  old  and  proud  Spaniard  of  the  hi 
dalgo  blood,  called  Don  Carlos  Gonzaleze,  was  governor  of 
the  province  of  Chihuahua,  in  Northern  Mexico. 

This  venerable  soldier  owned  the  great  Hacienda  Encin- 
nillas,  situated  as  above  described,  between  ninety  and  a 
hundred  miles  north  of  the  city  of  Chihuahua,  on  a  small 
tributary  of  the  Rio  Conchas.  His  mansion,  which  was 
about  in  the  middle  of  the  estate,  was  a  very  extraordinary 
looking  building  in  some  respects,  though  in  others  it  was 
only  peculiar  to  the  country,  or  rather  to  Mexico,  both  north 
and  south.  As  you  approach  along  the  winding  bank  of  the 
small,  clear  stream  which  descends  to  meet  you,  swift, 
bright,  and  cold,  from  out  the  dark  fastnesses  of  the  huge 
sierra,  looming  vaguely  in  the  immeasurable  distance  toward 
the  west,  you  obtain  the  first  glimpse  of  it,  and  that  while 
entering  from  a  wide,  undulating  prairie,  sodded  with  crisp- 
curling  grama  grass,  and  covered  with  herds  of  cattle  and 
mottled  horses,  beneath  the  low  shadows  of  a  great  forest 
of  live-oak  trees.  These  oaks,  although  scattered  over 
the  surface  something  in  the  proportion  of  a  dozen  to  an 
acre,  shroud  the  pale  sward  beneath  by  the  prodigious 
stretchings  of  their  low,  long  arms,  hung  from  the  nearest  to 
the  outermost  twigs  with  the  drooping  and  pensile  drapery 
of  a  gray  and  shining  moss,  in  a  sort  of  swinging,  slow  and 
nearly  funereal  gloom ;  but  the  moss  seems  almost  too  much 
alive,  as  it  waves  with  a  mild  shine  in  the  breeze,  and,  with 
the  hardy  glisten  of  the  evergreen  live-oak  leaves,  makes  a 
sort  of  reflex  twilight  on  the  dainty  sward. 

The  walls  of  the  hacienda  glitter  strangely  beneath  the 
sun  in  the  distance,  and  visions  of  the  miraculous  creations 


THE   WHITE  MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  185 

of  Aladdin's  lamp  are  suggested ;  but  as  you  approach,  the 
illusion  is  dispelled,  for  you  perceive  them  to  be  built  of  a 
light-gray  pudding-stone,  of  volcanic  origin,  peculiar  to  this 
province,  and  which  holds  in  it  a  large  proportion  of  shining 
quartz.  It  is  a  beautiful  and  singular  stone  for  building, 
and  is  susceptible  of  the  highest  polish,  which  in  this  in 
stance  it  had  received. 

The  singular  appearance  of  this  building  is  not  a  little 
heightened  by  the  great  size  and  number  of  its  windows,  of 
diminutive  laminae  of  mica,  which  on  three  sides,  as  you  ap 
proach,  reach  from  near  the  eaves  of  the  single  story  to 
within  two  feet  of  the  ground,  and  are  separated  by  intervals 
of  less  than  three  feet.  This  gives  to  this  portion  of  the 
mansion  a  shiny,  glistering  appearance,  which  is  grimly 
enough  contrasted  with  the  long  continuation  of  solid  ma 
sonry  beyond,  which  grins  with  small  port-holes  only,  and 
looks  massive  enough  to  defy  a  strong  cannonade.  You  are 
thus  forcibly  reminded  that  though  this  be  a  sunny  land  of 
the  orange  and  the  vine,  it  is  also  one  of  blood. 

Indeed,  the  fortress-like  appearance  of  the  rear  of  the 
house  is  amply  enough  compensated  by  the  gay  and  light 
some  air  of  the  front;  for  all  the  great  windows  of  this 
quaint  conservatory  are  clustered  about  with  sweet-scented 
shrubs  bearing  delicate  blooms,  and  filled  with  the  mag 
nificent  flowers  of  the  tropics,  or  festooned  across  the  in 
tervals  with  the  polished  leaves  and  gorgeous  trumpets  of 
evergreen  creepers,  and  wild  vines  of  the  native  grape,  with 
their  dark-purple  clusters. 

As  might  be  expected  in  such  a  scene,  the  sweet  voice  of  a 
woman  is  heard.  It  is  a  low,  mellow  warble,  swelling  fitfully 
upon  the  perfume-burdened  air,  with  drowsy  pauses,  as  if 
some  sleeping  song-bird  twittered  in  a  dream.  Through  one 
of  those  low  great  windows,  and  between  the  clustering 
flowers  and  vines,  a  young  Spanish  cavalier  was  peering  cau 
tiously,  as  if  to  obtain  a  sight  of  the  warbler,  himself  unseen. 
Q2 


186 


GABRIELLE I 


He  was  very  young,  and  a  very  handsome  fellow,  too.  His 
long,  black,  wavy  hair  fell  down  his  shoulders,  over  the  rich 
colours  of  his  splendid  scrape.  His  trousers  of  buckskin, 
beautifully  dressed  to  resemble  black  velvet,  with  two  rows 
of  silver  buttons  and  links  down  the  side,  showed,  through 
the  wide  slash,  the  delicate  pink  silk  of  the  drawers  beneath, 
while  a  long,  black  plume  fell  back  over  the  wide  brim  of 
his  gay  and  bead-wrought  sombrero.  His  slight,  downy 
moustache  shaded  a  delicate  but  sensuous  lip ;  his  nose  had 
the  proud  vault  of  the  Roman,  and  his  large  black  eyes 
literally  glittered  with  eager  delight,  as  he  gazed  into  that 
great  airy  room.  And  of  a  truth,  the  object  he  saw  there 
was  such  as  to  justify  him  fully  in  his  curious  eagerness,  for 
in  clear  view,  the  delicate,  voluptuous,  and  superlatively 
lovely  form  of  the  beauty  of  the  whole  province,  the  daughter 
of  the  old  governor,  reclined  upon  a  sofa  in  all  the  graceful 
abandon  of  unconsciousness,  singing  herself  drowsily  into 
the  siesta  in  which  all  Spanish  maidens  are  proverbial  for 
indulging. 

It  was  a  glorious  picture  the  young  man  stood  bending 
forward  in  breathless  rapture  to  enjoy.  She  was  "  beautiful 
exceedingly,"  that  dark-eyed  senorita,  with  her  long,  black 
lashes,  that  fell  like  feathery  clouds  over  the  pale-tinted  olive 
of  her  glowing  cheeks.  The  very  lids  seemed  burdened  with 
their  dark,  shining  weight,  as  they  struggled  heavily  to  rise, 
in  sleepy  cadence  with  the  sultry  monody  she  sang.  But 
those  dim  peepers  flew  open  widely  enough,  like  a  burst  of 
starlight  through  the  darkness,  when,  with  a  sudden  move 
ment,  the  young  man  sprang  through  the  window,  which  he 
had  thrown  up,  into  her  room ;  and,  with  a  low  cry,  half  of 
fright  and  half  of  joyful  surprise,  she  leaped  into  his  arms, 
and  there  suddenly  rang  upon  the  air  that  crisp,  mysterious 
sound  with  which  young  lovers  are  familiar.  Without  regard 
ing  the  poor  guitar  which  had  been  leaning  against  her  lap, 
and  now  fell  with  a  crash  upon  the  floor,  the  young  lovers 


THE   WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  187 

clung  to  each  other  as  if  this  were  to  be  the  last  moment  of 
their  earthly  meeting. 

Indeed,  it  was  a  shocking  pity  to  serve  the  frail  guitar  so, 
for,  like  every  other  article  in  the  great  room,  it  was  singu 
larly  slight  and  delicate,  and  seemed  as  if  it  might  have  made 
the  music  for  Titania's  court;  while  the  harp  which  stood 
near  looked  an  aeolian  thing,  just  fitted  for  the  fingers  of 
young  Zephyrus. 

It  was  a  fair  and  pleasant  vision,  that  of  the  meeting  of 
these  young  and  tender  lovers,  both  so  beautiful  and  fresh, 
both  so  fond  and  so  trusting,  the  halcyon  life  just  dawning 
upon  them.  Surely,  it  would  never  know  the  shadow  of 
change  !  From  the  intimate  endearments  and  familiarity  of 
bearing  and  language  toward  each  other,  it  was  apparent 
that  this  was  no  sudden  love-affair,  but  that  they  had  known 
each  other  long,  even  for  life.  In  fact,  the  pair  were  neigh 
bours,  and  had  seldom,  since  early  childhood,  been  separated 
long  at  a  time.  They  had  been  unconsciously  betrothed  since 
childhood  by  their  parents,  who  had  witnessed,  with  many  a 
secret  chuckle  of  no  small  delight,  the  progress  of  their  fa 
vourite  scheme.  They  had  been  too  judicious  to  disclose  the 
intended  purpose  to  either  party  until  within  a  very  short 
time,  when  the  intended  pair  had  come  to  them  with  fear  and 
trembling,  to  obtain  that  sanction  to  their  love  and  proposed 
marriage  which  the  old  governor  and  his  chief  friend  and 
supporter,  his  near  neighbour,  the  old  General  Jose  Espar- 
tero,  were  so  well  prepared  to  grant  in  advance. 

There  had  been  a  small  pretence  of  stern  questioning,  par 
ticularly  on  the  part  of  the  veteran  general,  the  most  anxious 
of  the  two,  and  then,  of  course,  a  delighted  assent  had  been 
given ;  for,  as  the  estates  of  the  old  governor  were  far  more 
extensive  and  valuable  than  his  own,  he  was  something  the 
gainer  by  the  bargain,  though  the  convenient  contiguity  of 
the  Hacienda  Sauz  reconciled  that  person  fully  to  the  dis« 


188  GABRIELLE: 

parity,  especially  since  the  general  was  his  most  powerful 
political  supporter. 

The  young  people  had  been  thrown  much,  indeed,  and 
almost  incessantly  together.  They  had  shared  the  same 
amusements  and  studies,  had  travelled  together  to  the  city 
of  Chihuahua  in  the  same  coach  of  state,  had  danced  together 
at  the  fandangos  of  the  governor's  court,  had  gossipped 
together,  and  though  we  do  not  pretend  to  say  exactly  that 
they  took  their  siestas  together,  yet  we  do  assert  that  they 
took  them  at  the  same  time,  and  in  much  the  same  fashion ; 
and,  however  shocking  it  may  appear  to  American  readers, 
we  further  assert  that  they  took  their  afternoon  baths  toge 
ther,  without  fail,  when  the  last  cigaretta  of  the  siesta  had 
burned  up  to  their  lips. 

Thus  it  will  be  perceived  they  had  at  least  been  moderately 
intimate  for  a  long  time ;  and,  as  they  were  altogether  the 
handsomest  and  richest  couple  in  the  whole  province,  what 
could  be  more  natural  than  that  they  should  have  gradually 
become  inseparable ;  and,  although  they  might  have  had — 
with  the  fortune  of  all  other  lovers,  for  whom  "  the  course  of 
true  love  never  did  run  smooth" — an  occasional  bickering  or 
small  lovers'  quarrel,  yet,  on  the  whole,  imagined  that  it  was 
mutually  impossible  to  live  without  each  other.  They  had 
latterly,  indeed,  become  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  this  self- 
evident  truth,  that  the  fear  of  death  had  become  alarmingly 
present  with  them,  and  the  determination  to  dodge  for  the 
present  this  "inevitable  end"  so  remarkably  warm,  that  they 
were  beseeching  the  old  dons  to  set  fire  with  the  torch  of 
hymen  to  the  whole  quiverful  of  the  arrows  of  that  venerable 
archer,  death.  The  old  dons  were  nothing  loath  in  special, 
but  for  the  present,  as  they  saw  there  was  no  need  for 
hurry,  were  amusing  themselves  by  torturing  the  ardour  of 
their  mutual  heirs,  in  putting  off  the  hour  of  bliss  by  pre 
tended  serious  excuses  about  age,  settlements,  &c.  &c. 

This,  by  the  way,  a  dangerous  sport  in  any  climate,  is 


THE   WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  189 

especially  so  in  a  country  so  near  the  sun  as  Mexico ;  and  if 
much  further  protracted,  what  the  result  of  these  long,  cling 
ing  caresses  we  have  witnessed  already  might  have  been, 
"we  can  better  conjecture  than  describe  !"  And,  indeed,  they 
are  not  usually  very  particular  in  inquiring  about  these  things, 
either  of  the  future  or  of  the  past,  in  any  part  of  Mexico ; 
and  we  do  not  see  why  we  should  trouble  ourselves  to  do  so 
here,  especially  as  our  future  must  show  for  itself. 

We  would  convey  no  shadow  of  imputation  against  the  pru 
dence  of  the  fair  Senorita  Gabrielle,  any  more  than  against 
the  unsullied  purity  of  that  modest  Adonis  of  handsome  young 
cavaliers,  Don  Juan  Espartero ;  but  we  do  mean  to  convey 
to  fond  and  mischievous  old  "governors"  in  general,  a  protest 
and  injunction  against  the  perils  of  such  dangerous  sport, 
especially,  as  we  remarked,  in  warm  climates,  where  the 
"  young  people"  are  surrounded  by  blazing  flowers,  that  pant 
"with  their  love-laden"  fiery  breaths  upon  the  sultry  air,  as 
we  have  seen  this  handsome  couple. 

However,  as  providentially  nothing  more  came  of  it  in  this  in 
stance  than  quite  a  serious  expenditure  of  warm  and  still  more 
fragrant  breaths  than  those  of  the  amorous  flowers,  breathed 
in  certain  mysterious  explosives,  at  which  we  have  hinted, 
and  quite  as  large  a  proportion  in  quick  yearning  sighs,  we 
may  safely  venture  to  relate  what  did  follow,  namely,  ciga- 
rettos  !  the  bath  !  &c.  &c. ;  but  one  thing  at  a  time. 

The  first  greetings  over,  (we  don't  say  how  long  this  took,) 
off  came  the  gay  sombrero  of  the  young  don,  and  from  it  came 
forth  the  most  delicately-fibred  leaves  of  the  husk  envelope  of 
the  ear  of  the  Indian  corn ;  then  his  keen,  jewel-hilted  stil- 
letto  flashed  in  his  jewelled-hand,  as  with  a  quick  and  graceful 
movement  he  cuts  the  leaf  transversely ;  and  then  opening  his 
gold  tobacco-box,  filled  with  the  dark,  fat  tobacco  of  the 
northern  barbarians,  which  had  been  chopped  up  quite  fine, 
he  proceeds  to  strew  a  smart  pinch  of  this  along  the  shuck- 
leaf  he  has  cut ;  and  then,  by  an  inconceivably  rapid  mampu- 


190 


GABRIELLE : 


lation,  rolled  it  up,  and  presented  the  little  tube  to  the  se- 
norita  with  a  low  bow.  It  was  accepted  playfully,  and  she 
gabbled  in  the  prettiest  conceivable  coquettish  way  to  him 
while  watching  the  process  of  manufacturing  a  similar, 
though  stronger  one,  for  himself.  This  completed,  out 
comes  the  elegant  silver  box,  in  which  is  carried  the  ever 
lasting  flint,  steel,  and  tinder  of  the  Mexican  and  Spaniard. 
Another  flash  and  sparkle:  the  burning  "punk"  is  handed 
to  her:  the  cigaretta  lighted,  and  those  rich,  dainty  lips 
become  at  once  the  breathing  crater  of  a  blue,  curling  aroma. 
The  "punk"  returned  to  him,  his  own  is  rapidly  ignited, 
and  they  are  quickly  enveloped  in  the  slowly-lifted  cloud  of 
sleepy  fumes. 

Now  the  loving  clatter  of  their  gentle  voices  gradually 
subsides  into  fragmentary  inquiries,  with  answers  in  slow 
pantomime  from  opposite  sofas,  while  their  endearing  glances 
sleepily  grow  dim  beneath  the  brooding  soporific. 

A  few  minutes  and  they  breathe  in  harmonious  concert, 
gentle  as  two  young  eastern  nightingales  within  a  bush  of 
poppy ;  the  cigaretta,  in  the  mean  time,  slowly  subsiding  to 
ward  their  compressed  lips,  until  at  last,  in  half  an  hour,  it 
had  burned  down  into  an  uncomfortable  neighbourhood  to 
those  red-ripe  "  nectaries  of  bliss" — where,  as  might  reason 
ably  be  expected,  symptoms  of  wakeful  return  to  their  sub 
lunary  relations  might  readily  be  detected,  and  soon,  with  a 
small  start,  caused  by  the  fire  that  had  burned  down,  they 
again  woke  to  paradise  in  each  other's  eyes. 

The  gentle  Gabrielle  sprang  quickly  to  the  neglected 
guitar,  which  had  lain  upon  the  floor  like  some  fairy  toy 
neglected,  and  with  swift,  practised  fingers,  beat  upon  its 
taut  and  unmarred  strings  a  tinkling  reveillie  in  some  wild 
gipsy  air  of  Andalusia,  that  made  her  young  lover  bound 
with  a  joyous  laugh  to  his  feet,  improvising  the  movement, 
accompanying  the  air  in  a  dance  as  wild  and  graceful  as  its 
rollicking  cadences. 


THE   WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  191 

Soon  the  guitar  is  thrown  down,  and  with  arm  linked  in 
arm,  they  go  dancing  through  the  long  sunny  room,  toward 
that  gloomy  continuation  of  the  mansion,  concerning  which 
we  have  spoken.  They  passed  through  a  wide,  strong  door, 
like  the  gate  of  a  fortress,  from  this  frail  summer-house  of 
glass,  into  the  dark  shadows  of  the  fortified  court  beyond. 
Here  they  entered  upon  a  square  of  some  three  or  four  hun 
dred  feet  on  each  side,  upon  which  the  low  but  massive 
houses  of  the  Peones  of  the  hacienda  faced,  by  narrow  en 
trances  at  short  distances,  and  these  entrances  descending, 
by  an  easy  and  pebbly  path  from  each,  to  the  narrow  bed  of 
the  small,  clear  mountain  stream  which  we  have  mentioned, 
and  which  passed  through  the  centre  over  its  natural  bed, 
and  then,  by  a  short  wind,  came  out  so  as  to  pass  exactly  at 
the  proper  picturesque  distance,  before  the  front  of  the  mas 
sive  palace  and  ice-like  parlours  of  the  mansion. 

They  descended  through  the  wider  door  of  the  interior, 
and  on  both  sides  there  was  a  small  alcove,  hung  with 
drapery  to  the  ground.  Into  the  two  the  lovers  separately 
retired.  There  a  quick  transfer  of  the  garments  habitually 
worn  was  effected,  and  they  came  forth  in  the  thinnest 
and  slightest  possible  costume,  it  must  be  confessed ;  but 
still  it  was  a  costume,  comparatively. 

Hand  in  hand  they  descended  into  the  clear,  swift  stream, 
with  such  a  shudder  as  any  one  who  has  been  once  introduced 
to  an  ice-bath  may  well  conceive ;  but  the  shudder  was  soon 
forgotten  in  the  fun  !  Such  a  splashing  as  there  was  !  The 
bed  of  the  small  stream  spread  and  deepened  here  into  a 
beautiful  basin,  extending  nearly  the  whole  length  of  the 
court.  This  was  the  hour  for  general  bathing,  and  the  pool 
was  swarming  with  young  girls,  the  daughters  of  the  Peone 
inmates  of  the  court.  These  were  entirely  nude ;  for  nothing 
is  more  common  in  any  part  of  Mexico  than  to  see  females 
of  this  class  in  such  condition,  bathing  publicly  in  the  rivers, 
when  they  will  return  the  wondering  and  curious  stare  of  the 


192  GABPJELLE : 

North  American  passer-by  with  interest,  and  then  coolly 
proceed  with  their  sports.  It  is  a  very  cheerful  and  en 
livening  scene,  and  of  course  peculiarly  attractive  to  the 
habitual  connoisseur  of  feminine  graces.  We  shall  not  un 
dertake  categorically,  and  with  a  grave  technical  minute 
ness,  to  name,  classify,  and  describe  the  genuine  and  specific 
character  of  the  charms  thus  frankly  exposed.  We  can  only 
specify  that  their  figures,  from  the  youngest  girls  up  to  the 
developed  women,  were  remarkable  for  symmetry  and  a  vo 
luptuousness  of  outline  peculiar  to  those  southern  races  which 
possess  any  mixture  of  Spanish  blood.  Their  dark  limbs 
glowed  beneath  the  pellucid  water  with  a  round,  bewitching 
grace  that  defies  description ;  while  they  stood  still,  in 
abashed  and  half-awed  silence,  at  the  moment  when  their 
young  mistress  and  expected  master  were  descending  to  the 
water.  For  this  little  space  of  time  they  seemed,  beneath 
the  veils  of  their  long  dark  hair,  which  many  of  them  had 
thrown  back  with  both  hands  upraised,  most  like  a  group  of 
startled  Naiads,  who  stand  listening,  while  "  Triton  winds 
his  hollow  shell"  to  announce  the  sudden  coming  of  old 
Neptune ! 

But  very  soon,  with  gradual  accession,  the  hubbub  rises  to 
be  quite  as  great  again,  and  all  the  court  is  ringing  with  the 
merriment  of  sweet  but  reckless  clamours.  They  kept  at 
first  at  a  rather  respectful  distance  from  the  young  senorita 
and  don ;  but  as  these  cheerful  persons  seemed  to  be  utterly 
fearless  of  any  undue  encroachments  upon  their  rank,  or 
rather  unconscious  of  any  such  thing  as  etiquette  to  defend, 
it  was  not  long  before  they  were  in  the  midst  of  the  scream 
ing  throng,  being  splashed,  and  splashing  water  upon  them  in 
turn,  and  participating  as  noisily  as  the  rest  in  the  exhila 
rating  sports  of  the  bath. 

But  all  pleasant  scenes  must  have  an  end,  and  so  had  the 
bath  ;  and  the  two,  with  their  thin  robes  clinging  to  dripping 
forms,  retired  to  the  curtained  alcoves  to  dress — a  process 


THE   WHITE    MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  193 

which  occupied  surprisingly  little  time  on  either  side ;  when 
they  came  bounding  forth  at  once,  and  hand  in  hand,  with 
merry  voices  and  buoyant  steps,  they  returned  through  the 
dark  passage-way  to  the  airy  summer-room  beyond. 

With  a  cry  of  endearment,  the  joyous  Gabrielle  sprang 
upon  the  neck  of  a  swarthy  and  strikingly  venerable-looking 
man,  who  met  them  at  the  large  door  or  gateway  of  this 
room.  He  greeted  the  fond  child  with  a  parental  salute, 
while  he  extended  his  hand  with  a  familiar  cordiality  to  the 
young  don.  This  was  a  beautiful  picture ;  the  fine  head  of 
the  old  governor,  its  long,  white  hair  mingled  sparsely  with 
threads  of  the  intensest  black,  towered  like  some  iron-gray 
rock  beside  a  magnolia-tree,  to  which  the  flowering  vine  that 
clasped  its  rough  pinnacles  stretched  out  its  gentler  arms. 

The  appearance  of  Don  Carlos  Gonzaleze  ^vas  very  noble 
and  careworn.  It  was  such  as  you  meet  a  thousand  times 
in  Italy,  Spain,  and  everywhere  in  Mexico  where  the  Spanish 
blood  prevails.  Even  among  the  lazaroni  and  leperoes  of 
these  ancient  races,  you  are  constantly  struck  by  meeting 
with  those  majestic  heads  which  could  only  have  been  born 
amid  the  associations  of  that  pride  which  lives  in  the  story 
of  ancient  greatness,  of  those  images  and  objects  which  are 
the  relics  of  a  glorious  art,  and  those  sounds  which  are  the 
prolonged  echoes  of  a  classic  lyre.  It  is  a  well-known  joke 
that  many  of  the  possessors  of  these  noble  heads  make  a 
good  trade  of  sitting  to  the  young  pilgrims  of  modern  art 
who  visit  Rome,  and  that  their  remarkable  lineaments  are 
thus  diffused  over  the  four  quarters  of  the  civilized  world  as 
veritable  portraits  of  saint,  apostle,  hero,  priest,  and  king 
whose  name  is  associated  with  the  illustrious  memories  of  the 
Eternal  City. 

For  our  own  part,  though  this  fact  may  seem  matter  of 
gibe  and  jest  to  others,  it  has  always  conveyed  an  impression 
of  deep  sadness  to  us ;  for  in  no  other  is  the  incurably 

"  downward  tendency"  of  these  once  so  magnanimous  and 
R  13 


194  GABRIELLE : 

glorious  races  to  be  seen  so  forcibly.  I  have  often  met  such 
persons  among  Mexican  population  in  the  most  unexpectedly 
ignoble  positions,  frequently  with  not  enough  of  rags  to  hide 
the  fine  lines  of  forms  possessed  of  those  perfect  symmetries 
which  are  never  one  of  the  "accidents  of  birth,"  but  which 
must  come  from  a  long  line  of  gentle  descent  and  ennobling 
deeds.  We  could  never  see  them  without  the  same  feeling 
with  which  the  passionate  lover  of  ancient  art  regards  the 
exhumed  fragment  of  some  buried  era  of  peculiar  grandeur. 
We  could  never  treat  such  persons,  however  much  degraded 
as  they  frequently  are,  though  always  with  a  proud  and  con 
scious  bearing  even  in  degradation,  otherwise  than  with  con 
sideration.  They  seem  to  me  the  sculptured  imbodiments 
of  faded  glories,  done  in  flesh  by  Time,  and  left  on  his  way 
sides  to  perish  miserably  because  of  a  perfection  too  high  to 
be  heeded  in  degenerate  conditions  and  by  an  emasculated 
race. 

The  old  Don  Carlos  possessed  such  a  face ;  but,  as  is  the 
case  with  many  others  of  this  stamp,  those  noble  features 
expressed  rather  the  "hollow  promise"  of  characteristics 
formed  from  any  age  of  loftiness  and  noble  virtues,  than 
conveyed  any  substantial  reality.  lie  seemed  to  have  been 
born  more  in  the  servilities  of  such  an  era  and  of  such  virtues 
than  with  the  robust  possession  of  them  at  any  period  in  their 
vigorous  health.  He  was  proud,  as  might  be  expected; 
ambitious,  as  a  matter  of  course;  brave,  as  something  not 
quite  so  consequential.  He  was  pompous,  too,  and  sadly 
lacked  executive  energy,  in  his  old  age  at  least,  though  he 
was  said  to  have  been  possessed  of  most  commanding  power 
at  one  time,  in  Spain.  He  was  vain,  pompous,  and  avaricious ; 
audaciously  unscrupulous,  as  such  persons  usually  are ;  and 
his  very  best  trait,  in  a  word,  was  the  most  extravagant  and 
yearning  affection  for  his  daughter.  She  was  the  apple  of 
his  eye,  for  whom  he  would  have  sold,  without  hesitation, 
life,  honour,  and  fortune. 


THE   WHITE    MARE    OF    CHIHUAHUA.  195 

The  old  Don,  incorrigibly  pompous  as  he  usually  was, 
always  melted  into  an  earnest  and  benign  manner  in  the 
presence  of  his  daughter  and  her  approved  lover :  then  there 
was  something  remarkably  attractive  about  him,  his  bearing 
possessed  a  gracious,  pleasing  loftiness,  which  was  finely  min 
gled  of  the  patriarch  and  ancient  Castilian  knight. 

At  such  times  you  could  quite  forget  that  the  heroic  blood 
of  his  descent  was  thinned  not  alone  by  his  own  individual 
age,  but  as  well  by  the  age  of  his  race ;  which,  like  all  noble 
strains  of  animals,  had  been  degenerated  by  the  breeding  "in 
and  in" — as  it  is  termed  among  farmers — to  which  it  had  for 
so  many  centuries  been  studiously  insulated  by  the  jealous 
exclusiveness  of  grandee  pride.  You  perceived,  too,  that 
although  the  general  morale  and  habits  of  the  modern 
Spaniard  had  in  addition  contributed  much  to  this  declension 
of  the  more  manly  virtues,  yet  manner,  that  "last  best  gift" 
of  gentle  descent,  had  not  yet  passed  away,  along  with  the 
chastened  beauty  of  person  to  which  we  have  so  often  alluded. 
Indeed,  it  seems  that  not  alone  "  the  pregnant  hinges  of  the 
knee,"  but  as  well  every  other  "joint  and  motive"  of  the 
body,  must  be  cultivated  through  generations,  amid  the 
graceful  flections  of  courtly  scenes,  before  they  can  attain 
once  more  to  the  true  expressions  of  natural  politeness  which 
have  been  so  coarsely  degenerating  since  Adam,  through  our 
debasing  vices !  When  the  manners  of  civilization  become 
polite  once  more,  we  may  look  for  Eden  scenes  returning ! 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  group  turned  from  the  great  gate,  and  hand  to  hand 
they  promenaded  the  long  room  to  the  slow  stately  step  of 
the  old  knight,  whose  tawny  and  deep-seamed  face  shone 
with  delight  as  he  listened  to  the  lively  and  artless  prattle 


196  GABRIELLE: 

of  his  daughter.  Sometimes  they  would  pause  for  a  moment 
before  one  of  her  flower-pots,  or  rather  great  marble  vases, 
in  which  they  grew — ranged  along  beneath  the  frequent 
windows  of  the  room,  while  Gabrielle,  loosing  her  hold  of  the 
two  hands  which  held  hers,  would  bound  away  to  bend  over 
her  pet,  like  some  guardian  sprite,  to  inspect  its  condition  or 
caress  it  with  her  dainty  lips ;  then  springing  back  to  her 
place  between  her  emulous  admirers  with  a  light,  coquettish 
movement  and  ringing  laugh,  they  would  pass  on. 

The  old  Castilian  seemed  supremely  happy,  and  to  have 
laid  aside  the  cares  of  state  in  earnest  for  the  time,  while  the 
gallant  Juan,  as  might  be  conjectured,  realized  the  promised 
beatitudes  of  the  seventh  heaven  in  the  flesh,  with  the  reality 
of  a  dark-eyed  Hourie  for  his  guide. 

The  time  for  the  evening  ride  had  now  come,  and  two  stout 
Peones  were  seen  leading  the  horses  to  the  door.  Darting 
away  through  the  great  gate  into  the  interior  for  a  moment, 
the  Senorita  Gabrielle  appeared  equipped  for  the  saddle.  A 
light  pink  jacket  of  silk,  jingling  with  many  rows  of  small 
silver  buttons  and  tiny  links,  had  been  put  on  over  the  boddice 
of  the  white  gauze  robe  she  wore;  the  "rebesos,"  or  vail  for 
the  head,  without  which  no  Mexican  maiden  goes  into  the 
open  air,  was  clasped  beneath  the  chin  with  a  delicate 
emerald  brooch.  Over  the  rebesos,  which  was  of  the  lightest 
gossamer  texture,  and  is  considered  more  particularly  as  ap 
pertaining  to  the  walking  costume,  she  wore  a  light  "gipsy 
hat,"  which  only  differed  from  that  with  us,  in  having  the 
conical-shaped  crown  belonging  to  the  "sombrero"  of  the 
men,  and  in  being  somewhat  differently  ornamented,  with  a 
broad  band  of  fantastically  grouped  and  coloured  beads.  Her 
small  yet  voluptuously  rounded  figure  was  admirably  set  off 
by  this  picturesque  costume. 

The  horses  of  the  two  were  held  with  difficulty  as  they 
approached.  Hers  was  a  beautiful  little  mare  of  the  Mustang 
or  wild  Arab  race,  peculiar  to  the  continent  since  Cortez 


THE  WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  197 

introduced  it  here.  It  was  white  as  the  driven  snow,  with  the 
exception  of  a  small  spot  of  red  bay  on  each  ear ;  and  as  is 
always  the  case  with  white  horses  of  the  true  Arab  breed,  its 
skin  was  white  also,  though  showing  through  the  close  hair  a 
rich  creamy  deepening  of  colour.  The  head  was  thin  and 
small,  with  nostrils  of  vast  width  showing  red  within ;  and 
though  somewhat  long  and  angular  in  its  outlines,  the  ears 
were  most  delicately  diminutive  and  tapering,  the  large  blue 
vivacious  eyes  stood  out  prominently  as  those  of  a  startled 
antelope,  while  the  voluminous  and  wavy  veil  of  the  mane 
which  flooded  the  forehead  and  fell  like  a  cataract  of  daz 
zling  white  from  the  delicate  arch  of  the  neck  nearly  to  the 
ground,  was  only  rivalled  by  the  full  and  flowing  splendour 
of  the  tail.  The  unshod  hoof  of  unusual  roundness  was  almost 
shrouded  by  the  graceful  length  of  the  fetlocks.  The  legs, 
which  appeared  as  you  approached  in  front  to  be  slim  almost 
as  those  of  the  deer,  presented,  as  you  saw  them  from  the 
side,  a  broad  bone  with  sinews  swelling  like  whip-cord,  but 
seeming  taut  as  steel,  and  as  if  they  would  make  metallic 
twangings  as  she  bounded.  The  shoulder  was  thin  but  broad 
and  high,  and  the  long  hamstrings  reminded  you  of  those  of 
that  miracle  of  speed,  the  great-eared  rabbit  of  the  plains. 
She  had  something  of  the  ragged  outline  of  the  Arab  in  the 
hind-quarters,  which  were  high,  and  would  have  been  too  an 
gular  for  beauty  had  she  been  low  in  flesh ;  but,  high  con 
ditioned  now  in  her  glistening  coat,  there  was  nothing  to 
detract  from  that  closest  approach  to  absolute  symmetry  of 
which  this  blood,  without  at  all  diminishing  its  wonderful 
endurance  and  speed,  is  capable.  She  looked,  with  her  short 
ears,  fiercely  gentle  eye,  her  quick-arched  neck,  her  thin  and 
mighty  bones,  her  steel-like  cords,  her  chest  of  the  female 
panther,  her  small,  flat  iron  hoofs  and  wide-flowing  mane  and 
tail,  most  like  some  hair-winged  creature  of  a  genei's  spell, 
summoned  to  chase  his  truant  winds  upon ;  and  now  that  she 

had  been  tamed  to  human  ken,  the  bright  Gabrielle,  with  her 
R2 


198  GABRIELLE : 

sylph-like  form  and  most  etherial  voluptuousness,  looked  the 
best  framed  to  mount  the  wizard  palfrey. 

The  horse  of  Juan  was,  of  course,  larger  than  this  mare, 
and  it  is  sufficient  to  say  was  a  very  fine  animal  of  the  same 
stock,  though  it  was  worthy  of  more  particular  notice  for  a 
peculiarity  of  colours,  which  is  always  emulated  by  the  young 
men  of  Mexico,  whether  of  high  or  low  degree.  They  all 
pride  themselves  upon  the  strangeness  and  variety  of  the 
markings  of  their  favourite  steeds.  They  are  crossed  with 
great  care,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  the  strongest  possible 
contrast  of  colours  in  the  motless  blotches  and  spots  of  the 
skin.  Many  of  them  are  very  curious  and  beautiful.  Such 
was  the  case  with  this  animal,  which  was  covered  upon  a 
white  ground  with  deep  reddish-black  or  dark  umber  spots,  of 
small,  but  irregular  size  and  shape,  with  a  long,  white  mane, 
and  tail  as  snowy,  except  that,  curiously  enough,  a  large  tuft 
of  coal-black  hair  burst  streaming  from  its  centre  down  to 
the  extreme. 

They  were  gayly  caparisoned  in  the  semi-barbaric  style 
peculiar  to  Mexico,  the  dress-saddles  being  plated  before  and 
behind  with  a  great  quantity  of  silver,  and  the  grotesque  and 
peculiar  ornament  of  the  coraza,  or  seat-cover,  being  likewise 
embossed  with  silvery  thread  upon  fine  leather,  while  the 
cola  de  pato,  or  housings,  of  the  same  material  and  make, 
covered  the  haunches ;  and  the  bridles,  with  their  heavy  bits 
of  solid  silver,  jingled  with  rows  of  little  bells  of  the  same 
metal.  The  head-pieces  and  reins  were  decked  with  bunches 
of  horse-hair  dyed  with  the  scarlet  cochineal  of  the  country. 
The  armas  de  pelo,  formed  of  the  long  and  silken  fleece  of 
the  Rocky  Mountain  goat,  dyed  of  the  same  colour,  and 
richly  bordered  with  embossed  leather,  hung  down  from  the 
high  pommel  of  the  saddle,  and  formed  an  occasional  cover 
ing  for  the  leg  of  the  rider  when  mounted. 

The  fairy  senorita  sprang  lightly  to  her  seat  with  little 
assistance  from  her  lover,  who  was  quickly  at  her  side,  jin- 


THE  WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  199 

gling  his  enormous  spurs  of  solid  silver  as  lie  mounted,  and  the 
horses  keeping  time  with  their  silver  bells,  as  they  dashed  off 
merrily ;  and  now  the  rumbling  of  heavy  wheels  was  heard, 
and  the  chariot  of  the  old  governor  rolled  heavily  through  the 
great  gate  of  the  court.  It  was  driven  by  a  smoke-dried 
peone  seated  in  front,  and  drawn  by  four  pale-dun  mules, 
very  tall,  with  slim  and  well-proportioned  bodies,  while  their 
fine  round  limbs  were  striped  with  small  black  marks,  which 
seemed  continuations  of  the  larger  stripe  which  traversed  the 
back  to  the  tail,  down  even  which  it  was  faintly  continued. 
The  chariot  was  a  very  clumsy  and  primitive  affair,  though 
there  had  been  considerable  effort  at  a  rude  sort  of  decora 
tion,  much  in  keeping  with  that  of  the  horse-furniture  I  have 
described.  The  spirited  team  moved  -in  a  very  brisk  trot, 
and  soon  the  parties  were  in  motion  together,  the  two  young 
people,  at  a  slow  gallop,  keeping  alongside  the  window  of  the 
chariot,  to  exchange  a  word  now  and  then  with  the  old 
governor. 

As  its  blood  warmed  by  the  motion,  the  fiery  little  palfrey 
of  Gabrielle,  becoming  impatient  of  such  slow  procedure, 
darted  ahead,  with  ears  laid  back,  like  a  frolicsome  pan- 
theress,  while  she,  looking  behind,  waved  a  laughing  farewell 
to  her  father,  and  resigned  herself  fearlessly  to  the  mood  of 
her  spoiled  and  petted  favourite.  Juan  joined  her,  and  away 
they  went,  like  two  glad  wild  birds  together,  singing  on  the 
wing,  while  the  old  governor  looked  wistfully  after  them,  as 
they  swiftly  disappeared  around  a  turn  of  the  road,  and  then 
settled  himself  in  his  chariot  with  a  smile  of  benignant  and 
happy  complacency.  As  he  thus  threw  himself  back  upon 
the  moss-stuffed  cushions,  he  gave  himself  up  to  well-satisfied 
speculations  concerning  the  precise  value  of  his  neighbour's 
estate,  about  to  be  thus  ceded  to  his  own,  and  to  splendid 
visions  of  a  green  and  honoured  old  age,  surrounded  with  all 
the  power  of  great  wealth  and  influence,  and  with  lovely 
grandchildren  added  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  his  bliss. 


200  GABRIELLE ! 

This  was  a  delicious  evening,  unusually  so  even  for  the 
equable  and  mild  temperature  of  this  climate.  The  sun  was 
near  to  setting,  and  its  mellow  rays  fell  in  long,  slanting  lines 
through  the  huge  arms  of  the  moss-draped  live-oaks,  and 
touched  now  and  then  the  venerable  head  within,  through 
the  open  windows  of  the  coach,  with  a  golden  salutation  and 
a  soft  farewell,  that  spoke  of  peace  and  hope.  The  sounds 
of  the  evening,  which  are  very  few  here,  and  these  exceed 
ingly  sweet  and  low,  had  just  commenced  to  fill  the  air  with 
a  slumberous  lullaby,  which,  with  its  charming  drowse, 
soothed  the  old  man  to  a  half  sleep,  filled  with  pleasant 
images,  while  the  coach  rolled  smoothly,  as  along  a  floor, 
over  the  level  road. 

The  monody  of  nature,  which  was  creeping  upon  his  ear, 
seemed  to  him  the  musical  receding  of  the  dear  voice  of  his 
daughter,  fading  as  she  went ;  and  as  the  sleepy  choir  of 
evening  rose  in  higher  strains,  it  seemed  to  him  that  loved 
sound  returning  again  in  merry  mood  to  meet  him.  But  the 
old  man  opened  his  eyes  quickly,  and  with  a  convulsive  start, 
as  the  driver,  in  a  shrill  pipe,  screamed  into  his  horrified  ear, 
"Los  Indios  !  los  Indiosl  los  Apache!"  and  without  waiting 
for  any  order,  wheeled  his  team  of  mules,  and  with  frantic 
eagerness  commenced  lashing  them  into  full  speed  down  the 
road  toward  the  mansion. 

The  stricken  old  man,  as  the  coach  was  turning,  caught 
one  glimpse  of  a  sight  that,  with  his  knowledge  of  that  coun 
try,  was  enough.  It  was  that  of  the  horse  of  Juan,  with 
head  tossed  on  high,  and  streaming  mane,  rushing  after  them 
riderless,  and  wild  with  fright.  The  horse  soon  passed  in 
its  panic-stricken  speed,  and  as  it  went  by,  the  horrified 
old  man  saw  blood  upon  the  splendid  saddle,  and  that  it  was 
wounded  by  several  arrows,  which  still  remained  sticking  in 
its  body. 

About  the  meaning  of  these  appalling  signs  there  could 
be  no  mistake,  and  the  frightened  driver  lashed  his  mules 


THE   WHITE   MARE    OF   CHIHUAHUA.  201 

still  more  desperately,  and  yelled  with  a  yet  more  ear- 
splitting  energy  of  fright.  And  of  a  truth  there  seemed 
to  be  good  cause  for  his  alarm.  The  dreadful  war-whoop 
was  sounding  in  his  ears,  and  the  clatter  of  pursuing  hoofs 
grew  more  distinct  each  instant.  There  was  no  time  for 
looking  back;  none  for  any  thing,  indeed,  but  the  most 
headlong  speed.  Now  the  mansion  is  in  sight.  If  the 
great  gate  be  not  thrown  open  in  time,  they  are  lost. 
On !  on !  rushed  the  goaded  team.  The  headway  is  too 
great;  they  cannot  pause.  Arrows  begin  to  whistle  past 
the  ears  of  the  screaming  and  despairing  Peone.  Ha !  it 
is  but  a  few  paces  farther  to  the  gate — mules  and  chariot 
will  be  dashed  to  pieces.  The  yelling  as  of  ten  thousand 
maddened  fiends  deafens  them  from  close  behind.  The 
gate  swings  suddenly  back ;  they  are  safe ;  and,  as  the 
gate  is  slammed,  with  a  baffled  howl  the  dark  warriors 
swerve  past  like  a  flight  of  hawks  that  have  missed  their 
quarry  on  the  swoop.  The  old  man  springs  to  the  ground 
in  the  court,  and  rushing  through  it  with  all  the  energy 
of  youth,  calls  his  people  to  arms.  He  passes  through 
into  the  summer-room,  to  look  after  the  retiring  foe.  They 
are  just  passing  out  of  view  beneath  the  great  oaks ;  and 
he  sees  among  their  dusky  forms  the  nutter  of  white 
drapery,  and  rearing  furiously  in  the  effort  to  escape, 
he  recognises  a  snow-white  palfrey,  with  long,  flowing 
mane  and  tail.  The  poor  old  man  falls  heavily  to  the 
marble  floor. 


202  GABRIELLE : 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  country  called  Northern  Mexico  is  in  many  respects 
peculiar,  but  in  no  other  is  it  more  entirely  anomalous  than 
in  its  general  topographical  features.  It  really  seems  to  be 
all  at  sixes  and  sevens  with  the  rest  of  the  continent.  Its 
rivers,  instead  of  running  east,  west,  or  south,  as  is  the  case 
with  our  other  rivers,  coolly  turn  tail  upon  them  all,  and  very 
independently  rush  away  toward  the  north.  Whether  this 
is  the  result  of  a  hauteur  of  temper  which  scorns  the  company 
of  " common  folk,"  we  cannot  tell,  though  sure  it  is  they 
have  nothing  in  particular  to  brag  of,  except  this  and  a  few 
other  eccentricities. 

But  there  are  some  odd  fashions  these  have,  which  are,  if 
any  thing,  still  more  unaccountable.  There  is  the  little  Rio 
Grande  of  Durango,  the  Rio  Nazos,  and  the  Rio  Patos,  which, 
with  the  most  unusual  and  extraordinary  originality,  start  out 
upon  their  own  hook,  from  the  bowels  of  the  rude  Sierra 
Madre,  and  after  flashing  in  foam-lightning  with  zigzag  leap 
ing  down  the  steep  bare  rocks,  and  rumbling  through  the 
deep  canons  beneath,  subside  within  a  hundred  miles  or  so 
into  beautiful  lakes,  of  comparatively  small  size,  and  having 
no  apparent  outlets. 

What  the  meaning  of  all  this  fussy  parade  is,  we  leave  it 
for  sages  to  determine;  but  if  we  were  left  to  conjecture,  it 
would  be  that  it  was  got  up  simply  for  the  sake  of  making  a 
fuss  for  the  pure  love  of  it;  for  those  sombre  old  mountains 
have  quick  ears,  we  tell  you!  while  they  stand  listening 
silently,  up  in  the  blue,  crisp  air,  to  the  glad,  glittering,  tink 
ling  dash  of  the  merry  waters,  giddy  with  the  joy  of  freedom 


THE   WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  203 

and  the  light,  as  they  go  tinily  shouting  down  their  rugged 
sides ;  and  then,  when  the  morning  comes,  haloing  with  tho 
aurora  their  white  frosty  brows,  they,  with  commendable 
vanity,  love  to  see  themselves  looking  at  the  best,  and,  on 
tiptoe,  seem  to  lean  and  peer  at  the  giant  reflexes  those  small 
bright  lakes  give  forth.  Ha !  ha !  the  jolly  old  boys !  what 
a  toilet  is  theirs,  when  their  hair  of  knotty  laurels  and  the 
rough  mesquit  has  just  been  combed  by  the  hurricane,  and 
all  their  white  powder  whirled  off  glistening  into  the  thin  air ! 
When  they  look  down  into  the  mirrors  at  their  feet  they  are 
amazed,  you  may  rest  assured,  to  see  themselves  looking  so 
young,  and,  like  punctilious,  old-fashioned  gentlemen,  as  they 
are,  sadly  taken  aback  at  the  idea  of  appearing  at  court 
before  the  sun,  without  the  complement  of  hair-powder  which 
etiquette  requires  !  But  the  fitful  winds  that  make  their  toilet 
will  soon  be  along ;  and  not  the  down  of  cygnets  is  so  soft  and 
white  as  those  fleecy  clouds  they  bring,  and  no  footfall  of 
minister  of  air  so  dimly  musical  as  their  flakes  while  they 
fall! 

We  mentioned  at  the  beginning,  that  the  Hacienda  En- 
cinnillas  was  situated  on  a  tributary  of  the  Conchas :  we 
should  have  qualified  this  assertion  somewhat,  by  saying 
that  it  was  rather  conjectured  to  be  a  tributary  than  known 
to  be  so;  for,  as  the  mysterious  Lake  Patos,  in  which  this 
little  river  lost  itself,  had  no  visible  outlets,  it  is  natural  to 
suppose  that  it  must  have  an  invisible  one,  or  else,  as  it  is 
no  miracle  in  point  of  size,  it  might  be  reasonably  expected 
to  run  over  some  day.  As  this  "some  day"  has  never  come 
yet,  it  was  quite  as  natural  to  suppose  that  it  never  would ; 
and  considering  it  was  near  the  Conchas,  which,  as  it  was  the 
largest,  was  certainly  the  most  self-willed,  proportionably,  of 
all  the  droll  rivers  in  this  droll  country,  why  might  it  not 
have  something  to  do  in  the  affair  ?  "  Why,"  it  might  be 
pertinently  asked,  "since  the  Conchas,  like  another  great 
river,  the  Nile,  in  the  '  far  countrie,'  has  taken  the  fancy  to 


204  GABRIELLB : 

run  north,  while  all  the  rest  of  the  world  runs  south,  should 
it  not  as  well  be  a  pipe-laying  politician,  and  have  under 
ground  tributaries  which  would  darkly  and  secretly  work  to 
swell  its  importance?"  The  thing  seems  plain.  However, 
whether  right  or  wrong,  the  Patos  River  and  Lake  are 
pretty  generally  considered  as  underhand  contributors  to  the 
rather  turbulent  importance  of  the  Conchas  ! 

On  the  morning  after  the  occurrences  we  have  related,  the 
shores  of  this  little  Lake  Patos  were  thronged  with  a  strange 
assemblage.  On  the  southern  side,  where  its  shores  were 
stupendously  abrupt,  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow  beach 
at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  this  curious  mass  was  rushing  along 
the  sand,  and  stretched  like  a  rabble  army  nearly  a  mile  in 
length.  Such  bellowing  and  pushing  as  there  was  in  that 
great  herd  of  brown,  black,  and  white  cattle,  all  mingled,  who, 
urged  by  the  sharp  lances  of  their  Indian  captors,  gored, 
roared,  and  butted,  throwing  out  their  heels,  pitching,  tum 
bling,  and  trampling  each  other  in  the  wildest  panic  of  pain 
and  rage  !  Their  fierce  captors,  as  they  passed  the  fallen,  re 
lentlessly  lanced  and  left  them  writhing  on  the  ground. 
Then  came  a  thousand  mules,  and  nearly  as  many  horses, 
rearing,  plunging,  biting,  snorting,  leaping,  and  kicking,  in 
a  sort  of  pent-up  stampede,  for  they  could  not  break 
through  the  heavy  and  compact  masses  before  them,  nor 
could  they  get  by  without  rushing  into  the  lake.  Then  came 
a  curious  jumble  of  Indians  mixed  up  with  their  Mexican 
prisoners,  and  hundreds  of  mules  laden  with  plunder  of  every 
kind — articles  of  which  were  strewing  the  sands  at  nearly 
every  stride  they  made.  Then  came  the  main  body  of  the 
robbers,  half  a  mile  in  the  rear,  and  consisting  of  over  two 
hundred  warriors,  darker  than  any  of  the  southern  tribes, 
naked  to  the  clout,  and  wearing  horse-tail  cues  attached  to 
their  long  hah,  and  streaming  on  the  wind  behind.  Their 
lances  were  ornamented  with  horse-hair,  as  also  their  bridles, 
which  were  plaited  and  tufted  with  it ;  and  their  rawhide  quirts 


THE   WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  205 

had  the  same  appendages.  To  increase  the  spirit,  if  not  the 
spirituality  of  the  scene,  these  wild  devils  were  yelling  like  a 
herd  of  wolves  with  the  staggering  prey  in  view,  only  that 
the  voice  of  the  human  monster  was  more  terrifically  hoarse 
and  alarming. 

Suddenly  the  lead  of  this  headlong  mass  diverged  toward 
the  lake,  and  such  a  splashing !  The  hundreds  of  "  browns" 
were  followed  hy  the  hundreds  of  "blacks,"  and  then  the 
hundreds  of  "whites"  capped,  like  horned  foam,  the  waves 
of  the  startled  lake.  Then  came  the  mules  and  horses,  and 
even  some  animals,  bearing  the  Mexican  prisoners,  rushed  in 
with  their  screaming  burdens.  So  strong  is  the  propensity 
among  beasts  of  all  grades  to  follow  the  lead ! 

It  was  now  rather  a  peculiar  sight,  it  must  be  confessed, 
that  placid  lake,  that  seemed  ever  to  have  slept  beneath  the 
eyes  of  stars  and  shadows  of  great  rocks,  suddenly  invoked 
by  this  wild  tumult  of  heads  and  horns,  of  snorts  and  sneezes, 
bellowings,  plunges,  rearing,  shrieking,  winding  up  with 
horrid  yells  as  the  rear-guard  of  warriors  came  up  and 
boldly  plunged  their  horses  into  the  lake,  and,  urging  them 
through  the  now  tumultuous  water,  struck  out  to  drive  back 
the  refractory  drove. 

Many  were  drowned,  but  it  was  not  long  before  the  great 
body  were  turned  in  toward  the  shore,  and  were  seen  meekly 
wading  back  through  the  near  shallows,  and  showing  them 
selves  tame  as  drowned  rats. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  these  audacious  warriors  had 
been  urging  this  mad  rout  because  they  were  afraid  of  pur 
suit  or  of  their  pursuers,  by  any  means.  How  that  is,  you 
will  probably  perceive  soon ;  but  you  may  rest  assured  this 
whole  affair  was  entirely  a  matter  of  common  usage  and  de 
liberate  calculation  with  them.  They  knew  well  that  the 
wild  and  frightened  animals  they  had  thus  unceremoniously 
appropriated  would  be  unruly  customers  to  manage  in 

driving  as  they  were,  and  that  it  was   necessary  to  teach 
S 


£  J6  GABRIELLE  : 

them  some  manners  at  the  outset ;  so  they  cunningly  chose 
this  long  beach,  where  they  knew  it  was  impossible  for  them 
to  break  but  in  one  direction,  and  that  one  the  best  calcu 
lated  to  cool  off  their  surplus  vehemence — into  the  lake  ! 

When  once  on  the  beach  there  was  no  escape :  they  had 
either  to  be  goaded  in  the  manner  we  have  described,  through 
the  whole  tedious  length  of  some  fifteen  miles,  when  they 
would  be  thoroughly  used  up,  or  else  they  must  take  to  the 
water,  either  of  which  alternatives  would  have,  as  they  well 
knew,  the  desired  effect ! 

Now  by  the  time  the  swimming  warriors  reached  the  sands, 
all  dripping  as  they  were,  they  marshalled  their  humble  and 
drooping  victims  into  double  herds,  which  walked  meekly  on, 
not  needing  the  goad  of  lance  or  frightening  yell. 

But  amid  all  the  noise  and  confusion  attendant  upon 
such  an  event  as  this  we  have  just  witnessed,  there  was  one 
party  of  four  warriors  which  stood  fast,  immovably  watching 
the  scene.  They  bore  between  them,  as  they  sat  upon  their 
horses,  a  rude  kind  of  litter,  composed  of  a  buffalo-robe 
stretched  between  two  lances,  and  another  above  thrown  over 
the  arches  formed  by  two  withes  of  green  boughs  lashed 
across  to  each  of  the  lances,  and  at  both  ends.  What  was 
held  in  this  curious  litter  was  not  so  apparent,  although  the 
flutter  of  a  white  garment  occasionally,  within,  might  have 
rendered  it  suspicious  that  we  had  seen  or  heard  of  the 
owner  before ;  and  more  especially,  since  you  discovered,  in 
the  thickest  and  most  tumultuous  part  of  the  throng,  a  small, 
and  snow-white  mare,  with  flowing  mane  and  tail,  which  was 
kicking,  biting,  and  leaping  here  and  there  like  an  enraged 
pantheress,  thus  managing  to  add  no  little  spirit  to  her  part 
of  the  scene,  and  give  some  trouble  at  least  to  the  youthful, 
but  comely  young  warrior  who  bestrode  her,  side-saddle  and 
all !  She  seemed  wild  with  furious  indignation,  and  snorted 
her  wrath  and  neighed  her  scorn  at  the  filthy  barbarians 
that  were  presuming  to  profane  her  silken  hide  with  their 


THE   WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  207 

vulgar  touch,  and  lashed  out  her  heels  with  savage  emphasis, 
and  without  distinction,  at  all  who  presumed  to  approach  her. 
She  had  already  bitten  several  warriors  or  their  horses,  and 
lance  after  lance  had  been  levelled  at  her  side,  but  as  her 
bold  young  rider  always  assumed  the  attitude  of  defence  for 
his  prize,  their  owners  had  finally  concluded  to  give  her  a 
wide  berth  and  let  her  alone.  When  they  plunged  into  the 
lake,  she  came  very  near  taking  her  rider  "out  to  sea,"  for 
she  clenched  the  bit  in  her  teeth,  and  started  out  across  the 
water  for  the  other  shore,  four  miles  distant ;  and  when  the 
young  warrior  attempted  to  check  her  up,  she  plunged  and 
went  under  very  deep  with  the  most  vixenish  desperation, 
as  if  determined  to  drown  him  off,  or  drown  herself,  and  thus 
get  rid  of  her  ignominy.  But  he  was  not  to  be  baffled,  and, 
with  wonderful  coolness,  (his  bath  had  made  him  cool,  if  he 
had  not  been  so  otherwise,)  he  held  her  head  above  water, 
and,  in  spite  of  her  struggles,  urged  her  toward  the  shore. 
When  arrived  there,  instead  of  being  tempered  down  as  the 
other  animals  were,  she  commenced  rearing  and  plunging 
among  the  disordered  crowd,  even  more  ungovernable  than 
before.  She  made  her  way  through  the  throng  of  cattle,  by 
leaping  over  the  backs  of  some  with  most  astonishing  bounds, 
that  would  have  unseated  any  other  rider  than  a  Southern 
Indian  or  an  Arab,  and  by  dashing  out  most  furiously,  or 
biting  them,  until  she  had  carried  her  rider,  "  whether-or-no," 
through  the  divisions  of  the  white  and  black,  and  reached 
that  of  the  shaggy  browns.  Here  she  began  to  behave 
better;  and  the  young  warrior,  who  had  been  absolutely 
sweating  with  his  exertions  to  "  keep  her  on  the  wind," 
began  apparently  to  console  himself  that  the  trouble  was 
all  over,  when,  to  his  great  astonishment  and  discomfiture, 
she  all  at  once  lifted  her  head,  and,  with  a  wild  shrill  neigh, 
cleared  in  swift  successive  bounds  the  backs  of  three  or  four 
of  these  great  shaggy  brutes,  and  then,  with  head  down  and 
nose  before,  nearly  dragging  the  poor  warrior  off,  she  rushed 


208  GABRIELLE ! 

through  the  crowding  herd ;  and  then,  with  a  strange,  eager 
cry  as  they  got  through,  leaped  over  the  back  of  a  burden 
mule,  and  stopped  so  suddenly  as  to  pitch  the  unfortunate 
young  fellow  violently  forward  and  nearly  over  her  neck, 
with  his  head  thrust  into  the  opening  of  that  unique  litter  of 
buffalo-robes,  concerning  which  we  have  spoken. 

The  scream  of  terror  that  followed,  and  his  look  of  grin 
ning  delight  as  he  regained  his  reins  and  seat,  were  not  far 
from  comical,  to  say  the  least ;  but  what  was  absolutely  so, 
was  the  whinnying  ecstasy  with  which  the  little  mare  thrust 
her  fine  head  into  the  same  place,  though  more  gently,  and 
begged  a  recognition  from  her  lawful  mistress ;  and,  further 
more,  it  was  not  a  little  comical  to  see  the  unavailing  efforts 
of  the  laughing  young  warrior  to  get  her  away  from  that  im 
mediate  vicinity,  after  her  fair  mistress,  who  had  been  some 
what  reassured  by  the  appearance  of  that  familiar  nose,  had 
stroked  and  kissed  it,  and  spoken  some  familiar  words  of  en 
dearment.  The  young  warrior,  after  various  desperate  efforts, 
finding  it  was  of  no  avail  to  try  to  get  away  from  that  litter, 
seemed  to  resign  himself  to  his  fate,  and  now  rode  quietly 
along  in  its  rear. 

Thus  it  pressed  on,  this  wild,  tumultuous  mass.  Lake  after 
lake  was  passed,  whose  sunlines  roughly  broken  by  the  wild 
invasion,  set  all  the  solemn  mountain-tops  dancing  in  their 
bosoms,  like  colossal  shadows  in  fantastic  wake  above  the 
death  of  ancient  solitude.  They  tossed  their  hairy  arms 
about  in  many  a  measured  wave,  nodding  their  white  heads 
seriously  and  slow,  while  far  beneath  their  huge  limbs 
flashed  in  quick  and  zigzag  antics,  that  seemed  strangely 
limber  for  such  grave  and  stiff-kneed  watchers  of  the  storms. 
Perhaps  their  stout,  unbending  natures  had  yielded  their 
venerable  proprieties  to  grief,  that  the  deep  bosom  of  this 
quiet  they  so  long  had  guarded  was  thus  being  robbed  of  its 
informing  presence — of  its  fairest  incarnation — the  lightsome, 
joyous,  and  gentle  Gabrielle,  whose  delicate  spirit  had 


THE  WHITE   MARE   OP   CHIHUAHUA.  209 

humanized  them  all,  and  whose  regal  will  had  bound  them 
as  her  servitors,  held  by  the  imperious  etiquette  of  her  ma 
jestic  court  to  breathe  not  over  loud  themselves,  nor  let  the 
uncivil  winds  dare  more  than  whisper  on  their  pipes  a  drowsy 
undertone — that  all  the  rocks  and  waters  of  that  wreck- 
piled,  caverned  earth,  might  hear  the  mellowest  ripple  of  her 
silvery  laugh,  and  soothe  their  bristling  horrors  into  the  ver 
nal  smiles  of  a  perpetual  peace. 

Alas,  alas,  ye  cold-nosed  mountains !  well  may  the  slow 
teardrops,  now  trickling  from  many  an  eyelid  spring  adown 
your  rugged  points,  freeze  in  funereal  pendence,  glistening 
aloft  in  that  icy,  desert  air,  the  which  the  soft  radiance  of 
her  spring-like  smiles  may  never  soothe  and  thaw  again ! 
She  has  been  reft  from  thee — she  is  departing !  Are  not 
thy  moveless  pinnacles  all  tottering  with  the  weight  of  sorrow 
even  now  ?  In  thy  wild  wrath,  may  they  not  be  hurled  be 
neath,  upon  the  doomed  war-crest  of  that  black  and  savage 
herd,  that  would  thus  ravage  all  thy  joy  away  ? 

Thou  troubled  lakes,  whose  crystal  quiet  has  been  thus 
profaned,  deep  in  the  cavernous  chambers  of  thy  mystery, 
hast  thou  no  pent-up  floods  to  loosen  overwhelming  on  this 
sacrilegious  rout,  that  ye  may  bear  her  on  the  white  mare, 
triumphing  on  the  unsoiled  crest  of  your  white-foaming 
strength  ? 

Alas,  alas,  the  flinty  heart  of  mountains  and  the  torpid 
power  of  those  dumb  lakes,  they  are  yet  unmoved !  May 
the  genii  of  those  baffled  storms  possess  them  both  hereafter 
with  wildest  throes.  The  angel  of  their  old-time  peace  has 
vanished !  Gabrielle,  the  fair  Gabrielle,  has  passed  away ! 
She  has  been  torn  from  their  midst,  their  guardian  arms  all 
unresisting ! 

Though  deserted  by  her  natal  guardians,  the  power  of 
lake  and  wood,  rock  and  stream,  the  fair  Gabrielle  retained 
at  least  one  fast  and  faithful  friend  in  the  beautiful  white 

mare  of  Chihuahua:  who,  having  by  this  time  taught  her 
S2  14 


210  GABRIELLE : 

swarthy  captors  that  "her  will  was  to  be  law,  now,  with  her 
nose  close  against  the  litter,  followed  demurely  with  droop 
ing  ears,  and  large  eyes  melancholy-moist,  seeming  to  respond 
from  her  deep  chest  in  sighs  to  every  sob  of  the  frail  pri 
soner  within,  who,  forgetful  of  aught  else,  strove,  yet  in  vain, 
through  closed  lids,  to  shut  out  some  gory  spectacle  that 
would  rise  up,  bearing  the  form,  scalpless  and  torn,  of  her 
own  gallant  Juan. 

Poor  child !  poor  child !  She  thought  not  of  her  dread 
ful  future.  The  past  brought  darkness  and  horror  enough 
to  her  faint  heart. 

Still  it  rushed  on — that  ruthless  herd,  and  roar  and  yell, 
and  clang  of  lance  and  shield  yet  mingled  in  dull  and  dread 
ful  monody  upon  her  listless  ear.  Still  the  white  mare  clung 
close  beside  her — still  the  young  chief  had  failed  to  move  her 
wilful,  dogged  faith — still  those  white  ears  dropped — still 
that  deep  chest  heaved  with  mute  and  pent-up  wrath,  and 
the  funereal  trail  of  her  white  mane  and  tail  swept  the  curt 
brown  sod. 

Night  came — and  still  the  troubled  mass  rolled  on  beneath 
the  pitiless  stars  and  the  cold,  staring  moon — no  pause,  no 
rest  was  there. 

The  bellowings  of  the  goaded  herds  were  only  now  and 
then  rendered  less  distinct  by  the  shrill  shrieks  and  outcries 
that  told  how  the  ferocious  robbers  had  turned  aside  to  strike 
some  new  hacienda  near  their  path,  or  sweep  fresh  victims 
from  the  pillaged  suburbs  of  defenceless  villages,  to  hurl 
them  onward  in  the  turbid  rush  of  the  dark  flood  they  urged 
before  them  to  their  mountain  home. 

The  morning  came — and  a  more  general  wail  uprose  from 
all  the  shaking  land  they  trampled,  and  a  great  concourse  of 
prisoners — weeping  as  she  wept,  and  for  many  another  scalped 
and  gory  Juan,  too — swelled  the  long,  mournful  train  of 
fairest  Gabrielle. 

Suddenly,  as  with  a  great  shock,  all  this  bewildered  tumult 


THE   WHITE    MARE    OF    CHIHUAHUA.  211 

now  was  stilled.  The  insolent  marauders  had  paused  before 
the  very  gates  of  the  city  of  Chihuahua — and  leaving  a  few 
of  their  number  to  guard  their  prisoners  and  plunder,  charged, 
howling  their  fierce  war-whoops,  rattling  their  shields  and 
lances  against  each  other,  upon  a  force  of  some  five  hundred 
regulars,  constituting  the  garrison  of  the  city,  which  was 
issuing  from  the  open  gates  with  characteristic  pomp  and 
bluster  to  punish  the  aggressors.  These  flaunting,  ferocious 
champions  of  New  Mexican  honour,  scarcely  awaited  the 
charge  of  less  than  three  hundred  half-naked  savages,  but, 
breaking  instantly,  were  driven  back  in  panic-struck  confusion 
to  the  wide-open  gates  of  their  city,  their  dreaded  foes  enter 
ing  pell-mell  with  them. 

The  lieutenant-colonel  to  whom  the  gallant  old  Governor 
Gonzaleze  had  intrusted  the  sole  command  during  his  retire 
ment  at  his  hacienda,  had  been  first  to  lead  forth  his  tinselled 
troops  to  meet  this  wild  band ;  and,  with  equal  promptness 
and  activity,  had  proved  the  first  to  enter,  not  only  the  gates 
of  the  city,  in  this  shameful  retreat,  but  the  first  as  well  to 
reach  the  shelter  of  the  citadel. 

Fortunately,  their  foes  held  the  environment  of  walls  in 
deep  aversion,  and  did  not  venture  to  penetrate  so  far  as  the 
citadel,  of  which,  no  doubt,  they  might  have  possessed  them 
selves  with  equal  ease,  in  the  panic. 

At  the  sound  of  the  escopets,  which  a  few  stragglers  had 
nervously  fired  into  the  air  in  their  retreat,  the  white  mare 
of  Chihuahua  had  pricked  her  ears,  and  darting  forward  with 
a  shrill  snort,  had  succeeded,  by  the  suddenness  of  her  move 
ment,  in  unseating  her  tenacious  rider,  and  then,  with  the 
speed  of  an  arrow  from  the  bow,  her  wild  hair  singing  in  the 
wind,  she  had  darted  with  fierce  neighings  through  the 
crowded  gate,  and  held  her  way,  trampling  and  overturning 
every  thing  opposed,  direct  to  the  citadel,  into  Ae  accustomed 
courts  of  which  she  rushed,  plunging  and  foaming  like 
wizard,  wild  thing,  broken  loose. 


212  GABRIELLE I 

Nothing  could  restrain  her  furious  neighings,  and  as  the 
gates  were  now  closed,  the  gallant  colonel  was  soon  made 
aware  of  her  presence. 

The  cheek  of  the  chivalrous  Don  Diez  turned  yet  a  shade 
paler,  and  his  long,  silken  moustache  quivered  still  more  pal 
pably,  as  he  recognised  the  favourite  palfrey  of  Senorita 
Gabrielle,  yet  fully  caparisoned,  showing  full  plainly  that 
evil  had  come  to  her  whom  he  well  knew  to  be  as  more  than 
the  apple  of  the  eye  to  his  indulgent  master,  the  old 
Governor  Gonzaleze. 

She  must  be  a  prisoner  to  this  wild  horde — and  now  a 
double  disgrace  stared  upon  him  like  a  death's  head,  should 
he  do  nothing  to  rescue  her.  No  excuse  could  save  him  now, 
no  lying  bombast  of  reported  prodigies  of  valour  could  avail 
him  now.  No  swaggering  bulletins  from  imaginary  fields  of 
blood  would  divert  that  old  father's  heart  from  the  stern 
questioning  which  would  demand  her — his  life — his  child  ! — 
the  child  of  his  old  age — at  his  hands. 

The  recreant  felt  that  indeed  something  must  be  done  to 
save  appearances ;  and  instantly,  with  loud  gasconading,  he 
ordered  the  white  palfrey  to  be  equipped  for  him — for  his  own 
warrior  seat — that  upon  it  alone  he  would  lead  them  forth 
to  die  a  thousand  deaths,  or  to  the  rescue  of  their  mistress. 

The  Apaches  had  now  left  the  town,  and  for  hours  and 
hours  the  chivalrous  knight  galloped  hither  and  yon  about 
the  city,  collecting  his  scattered  heroes,  thus  managing  to 
waste  the  precious  time  within,  which  it  might  safely  be  con 
jectured  that  the  foe,  he  was  thus  ferociously  bent  upon  ex 
terminating,  could  have  reached  a  security  beyond  the  possi 
bility  of  pursuit,  within  the  fastnesses  of  the  neighbouring 
Anahuac  mountains. 

But  his  swarthy  foe,  meanwhile,  proved  to  be  in  no  hurry 
to  gain  this  desirable  shelter ;  and  after  loitering  for  some 
time  plundering  the  suburbs  and  insultingly  challenging  the 
garrison  to  come  forth  and  fight  them  upon  open  ground, 


THE   WHITE   MARE   OF   CHIHUAHUA.  213 

they  at  length  leisurely  moved  on  with  their  encumbered 
train,  sending  forth  many  a  bitter  taunt  and  defiance  to 
pursue. 

When  they  were  at  length  safely  out  of  sight,  and  even 
miles  away,  the  gallant  Lieutenant-colonel  Diez  came  forth, 
all  renewed  in  burnished  splendour,  leading  his  valorous 
force  of  green  and  gold-laced  chivalry.  The  white  palfrey 
that  he  rode  seemed  verily  snorting  flames,  so  eager  was  she 
chafing  to  plunge  away  at  once  upon  the  wild  pursuit. 

And  now  the  drama  hastens  to  a  close.  Hours  have 
passed,  and  it  nears  evening.  The  listless  Apaches,  who  are 
gorged  at  last  with  rapine  and  with  blood,  are  slowly  moving, 
in  a  long,  straggling,  careless  line,  toward  the  entrance  of 
the  first  defile  into  the  sheltering  mountains. 

Some,  half  asleep,  bend  forward,  resting  with  their  shields 
upon  the  brooding  necks  of  their  jaded  steeds.  Others,  in 
reckless  attitudes,  gossip  in  groups  as  they  walk  lounging 
beside  their  horses.  A  deep  and  tangled  chaparral  stretches 
on  either  side,  from  the  mouth  of  the  defile  out  into  the  plain. 
The  advance-guard  of  warriors  has  already  entered  the 
pass,  while  behind  them,  stretching  for  more  than  a  mile, 
follows  the  scattered  train  of  stolen  herds,  and  after  these 
the  loose  phalanx  of  their  prisoners,  tied  upon  horses  and 
mules,  or  straggling  on  foot — the  precious  litter  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  alone  being  guarded,  on  the  extremest  rear. 
Then  came  the  lounging  rear-guard  of  some  fifty  apathetic 
warriors,  when,  as  they  were  about  entering  the  defile,  a 
thumping  and  irregular  discharge  of  escopets,  from  the 
chaparral  on  either  side,  told  of  an  ambush — when  the  listless 
warriors,  like  drowsy  wild-hawks  to  the  clash  of  coming  wings, 
are  on  the  instant  wide  enough  awake,  and  bending  for  the 
Btoop,  glance  fiercely  round  them  for  the  coming  foe. 

Shot  after  shot  burst  dully,  thumping  round  them;  and 
yet  no  harm  seems  done,  no  warrior  falls,  nor  even  starts 
with  sudden  wound — when  suddenly,  with  a  loud,  derisive 


214  GABRIELLE : 

laugh,  they  wheeled  and  darted  back,  to  turn  the  chaparral 
on  either  side,  and  rout  the  foe  their  scorn  had  so  surely 
recognised. 

It  was  but  a  moment,  and  the  chivalrous  knights  of  Mexico 
were  seen  scurrying,  in  sad  disarray,  hither  and  yon  across 
the  open  plain,  back  for  Chihuahua,  far  faster  than  they  came. 

But  see  !  yon  gayly  plumed  knight,  who  leads  the  frantic 
rout,  has  suddenly  wheeled  from  out  the  press,  and  is  darting 
back  alone,  upon  his  snow-white  steed,  as  if  in  shame  and 
scorn  he  left  the  coward  rabble,  to  expiate  with  his  own  gentle 
blood  this  foul  blot  upon  the  high  chivalry  of  Spain,  or  with 
his  own  puissant  arm  singly  to  rescue  the  fair  prisoner  in 
yon  guarded  litter. 

It  is  the  gallant  Diez  !  Who  but  he  ?  Mark  what  a  falcon 
flight  he  flies !  How  direct  is  that  fell  swoop  he  makes ! 
Shall  his  swarthy  foes  stand  up  before  him  ?  Dare  they 
abide  his  fearful  coming  ?  See,  he  is  upon  them  !  Their 
warrior  ranks  are  opened.  Hark  as  he  passes !  was  that  a 
wild  yell  of  derision  ?  That  furious  neigh  of  his  fiery  steed, 
— those  tremendous  vaultings  !  Hah  !  Lieutenant-colonel 
Diez  is  unseated  by  his  snowy  steed — his  foot  drags  in  the 
stirrup — fiercely  lashing  his  prostrate  form  with  her  heel, 
the  white  mare  of  Chihuahua  drags  his  lifeless  body  over 
the  plain,  through,  around,  and  amid  the  jeering  warriors, 
who  will  not  deign  to  honour  all  that  fallen  chivalry  with  one 
good,  honest  weapon-thrust.  And  so  this  fierce  knight  died 
without  one  warrior  wound.  Alas  !  alas  ! 

The  rout  now  disappeared  within  the  deep  defile,  and  the 
fair  Gabrielle  and  her  milk-white  wizard  palfrey  have 
passed  from  before  our  vision !  It  may  be  for  ever — we 
shall  see ! 


THE 

WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 


TALES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  BORDER. 


THE  WILD  GIKL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 
CHAPTER  I. 

THE   WANDERING   HUNTERS. 

WE  are  off !  and,  far  through  the  illimitable  evening,  are 

"  Flying  an  eagle's  flight — bold  and  forth  on !" 

Swiftly  the  cities  of  men  are  left  behind  our  daring  way, 
and  then,  as  we  swing,  flapping  with  tireless  pinions  through 
the  mid-air — brushing  fleecy  edges  of  clouds  away — the  towns 
seem  lessening  into  villages,  and  these  are  sown  broadcast 
now,  dotting  the  hill  or  river  side,  the  forest,  valley  and 
plain.  Now  the  little  farms  are  scattered  widely,  and  here 
and  there  a  "settlement"  flecks  the  unbroken  wild,  at  broad 
intervals,  with  openings  that  let  in  the  sun. 

On !  on  !  The  forests  darken — the  hills,  the  river,  and  the 
prairies  look  more  solemn.  Here  and  there  a  hunter's  lodge 
seems  to  crouch  from  loneliness  beneath  their  shadows,  and 
then  the  thin  blue  column  of  a  camp-fire  smoke  soars  upward. 

Now  there  is  a  wide  interval  of  dark  and  unrelieved  repose. 
The  shadows  look  as  if  they  never  had  been  crossed,  so  still 
are  they  upon  the  smoothly-gliding  surface  of  wide,  swift 
rivers — so  still  are  they  upon  the  rippling  edges  of  broad, 
ocean-like  prairies,  whose  green,  flowery  surfaces  are  bowed 

and  lifted,  wave-like,  as  the  winds  go  by — so  still  are  they, 
T  217 


218 


THE  WILD  GIRL  OP  THE  NEBRASKA. 


flung  down  from  abrupt  cliffs  into  the  dim,  hushed  valleys — so 
still  are  they,  laid  across  the  brows  of  grim  and  time-stained 
rocks — so  sombre-bright  are  they,  dropped  in  golden  chequer- 
work  beneath  the  tangles  of  old  forests — 

"  The  nodding  horror  of  whose  shady  brows" 

had  else  been  threatening — so  dark,  on  the  abyss  of  cataracts, 
flashing  as  they  leap,  that  even  the  thunder  of  their  fall  is 
awed,  and  does  not  wake  the  ancient  silence. 

Now  again  columns  of  smoke  pillar  the  clouds  at  far  in 
tervals  ;  but  they  ascend  from  the  fires  of  another  race.  By 
the  bed  of  the  great  Missouri,  and  along  its  many  arms,  the 
Arabs  of  the  South  have  planted  their  tents  of  buffalo-hide, 
and  from  their  blazing  fires  ascend  the  streams  of  incense  to 
HIM  they  worship  as  Manitou — the  Great  Spirit  and  essence 
of  all  things ! 

There  they  are  ! — half-naked,  decked  with  dyed  horse-hair, 
and  feathers,  bearing  long  lances,  quivers,  and  short  bows ! 
They  go  scudding  to  and  fro,  like  swallows  on  the  wing,  upon 
their  swift  and  mottled  horses — wild  and  tameless  knights 
are  they  !     Ho  !  for  the  Prairie  Chivalry  ! 

This  is  towards  the  south ;  but  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
terrible  river  the  smokes  of  a  different  race  ascend.  They 
live  in  villages,  and  are  wholly  clothed  in  garments  of  dressed 
skins,  and  these  are  made  most  picturesque  by  long  fringes 
and  figures,  worked  with  a  rude  art  by  the  fingers  of  their 
swarthy  maidens.  Then  their  frightful  necklaces  of  the 
claws  of  grizzly  bears,  their  plucked  crowns,  with  the  long 
scalp-lock  tufted  in  eagle  feathers,  and  their  paint-begrimed 
faces,  remind  us  of  the  sterner  and  more  ferocious  North. 

They,  too,  have  quivers,  bows,  and  lances,  like  their  neigh 
bours  with  the  darker  skins,  but  each  is  on  a  larger,  heavier 
Bcale ;  and  then  they  have  the  ugly  war-club  of  the  North. 

They,  too,  have  the  white  man's  most  terrible  weapon,  the 
rifle,  here  and  there  among  them.  They  are  horsemen,  too 


THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA.        219 

—but  not  such  Centaurs  as  their  southern  neighbours  are ;  for 
with  them  horse  and  man  are  one — alike  agile,  tireless,  and 
fleet. 

Here  the  Kansas  river,  after  a  long  and  weary  way  from 
out  the  sterile  country  of  the  Arapahoes,  comes  bounding  on 
to  meet  the  wild  Missouri ;  and  farther  yet  above,  the  cold 
and  swift  Nebraska  is  hurled,  like  a  shining  lance,  down  from 
the  strange  and  snow-capped  mountain  tangles  of  the  "  Three 
Parks,"  into  that  remorseless  bourn. 

Amidst  these  wilds  we  find  a  group  of  wanderers.  It  is 
composed  of  six  in  all,  four  of  whom  are  rude,  athletic  men, 
who  reveal  at  once  that  they  are  frontiersmen,  hunters,  and 
guides,  by  the  incessant  and  restless  habit  of  turning  their 
heads  to  look  in  all  directions  as  they  advance.  They,  as 
usual,  are  armed  in  the  old-fashioned  manner,  with  the  long- 
barrelled  rifle  and  single-barrelled  pistols ;  for,  as  a  class, 
they  have  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  innovations  of  what 
ever  kind  in  arms  or  equipment. 

The  other  two,  like  men  of  sense  coming  out  from  civiliza 
tion,  had  brought  with  them  its  most  important  improvements 
in  weapons.  Each  carried  a  pair  of  Colt's  revolving  pistols 
at  his  belt,  and  a  short  steel-barrelled  rifle,  that  told  at  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  with  fatal  accuracy.  This  they  bore 
before  them,  across  the  pummel  of  their  saddles.  The  heavy 
and  terrible  bowie-knife,  with  its  keen,  broad,  polished  blade, 
hung,  too,  at  their  sides,  in  a  leathern  sheath. 

Their  dress  was  a  strange  commingling  of  the  two  extremes 
of  civilized  and  savage  costume.  It  consisted  of  the  ordinary 
buckskin  hunting-shirt,  and  trousers  of  gray  cloth,  but  faced, 
or  "foxed,"  as  the  frontier  term  is,  with  the  same  material 
as  the  shirt — that  is,  those  portions  of  it  which  were  particu 
larly  liable  to  abrasion  in  the  circumstances  of  their  rough 
life,  were  covered  by  this  stout  defence,  stitched  on  to  the 
cloth. 

They  carried  long  lariats  of  plaited  raw-hide,  coiled  and 


220  THE   WILD   GIRL   OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

hung  by  a  slight  thong  to  the  horn  of  their  Mexican  saddles 
— across  the  deep  seats  of  which  the  blankets  that  covered 
the  riders  at  night  were  folded.  A  small  bag  of  provisions 
was  slung  beneath  them,  pannier-like,  on  either  side,  and 
behind  were  tied  a  tin-cup  and  water-gourd.  They  were  all 
well  mounted,  but  he  who  led  the  party  seemed  superlatively 
so.  The  airy-necked  and  light-limbed  mare  that  carried  him 
stepped  as  if  she  were  shod  with  wings. 

The  person  at  his  side  was  a  smaller  figure,  yet  there  was 
something  exceedingly  springy  and  cat-like  in  his  alert  bear 
ing  and  gray,  glittering  eye.  The  face  was  what  sentimental 
young  ladies  would  call  "plain,"  for  there  was  nothing  pecu 
liar  about  it,  except  the  mouth  and  eyes.  The  former  was- 
something  wide  for  the  size  of  the  face,  with  thin  lips,  the 
upper  one  of  which,  even  in  profound  repose,  was  curved  in 
a  perpetual  sneer.  The  square  under-jaw  expressed  immense 
and  inexorable  energy  of  will.  Over  all  the  face  there  was 
an  expression  that  irresistibly  attracted,  while  it  left  you 
uneasy  and  dissatisfied  with  the  fascination. 

"  Carter,  I  am  heartily  tired  of  this  whim  of  yours  !"  said 
he,  pettishly. 

"  I  am  sorry  for  it,  Newnon  !  But  it  is  certainly  a  whim 
by  which  we  have  gained  a  great  deal,  for  it  has  filled  our 
veins  with  healthy  blood,  and  made  us  stronger  in  every 
sense  by  a  hundred-fold  than  we  were  before." 
*  "Pshaw!  I  am  not  particularly  emulous  of  the  seven 
labours  of  Hercules,  and  do  not  care  to  be  able  to  grapple 
hand  to  claw  with  a  grizzly  bear,  or  pummel  a  panther  to 
death  with  my  fists  !  I  was  strong  enough  already — so  far 
as  brute  strength  is  concerned." 

"Ah!  but,  Newnon,  you  are,  as  usual,  uncandid.  If  we 
do  not  have  literally  to  battle  in  brute  strength  with  the 
seven  labours  of  Hercules  now,  we  shall  have  to  do  it  intel 
lectually  with  a  far  greater  number — and  we  cannot  escape 
the  unfortunate  accident,  that  the  spiritual  and  physical  lives 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  221 

are  so  mutually  dependent,  that  one  must  be  toned  by  the 
other.  So  I  shall  regard  you  an  ingrate  if  you  do  not  pro 
nounce,  in  the  solemn  presence  of  this  vast  prairie-wilderness, 
your  infinite  obligations  to  its  free  airs  and  rude  accidents, 
which  have  renewed  your  lungs,  your  digestion,  and  your 
nerves,  far  beyond  any  previous  capacity  of  either !" 

"  I  do  not  need  the  lungs  of  a  Camanche,  the  digestion  of 
an  alligator,  or  the  nerves  of  a  horse ;  for  I  only  set  up  for 
a  simple  gentleman,  and  had,  as  I  conceive,  quite  enough  of 
all  these  before." 

"  But,  Newnon,  you  must  confess  to  having  had  the  oppor 
tunity  of  letting  off  your  spleen  in  several  hearty  fights, 
which  I  thought  at  the  time  you  seemed  to  relish  very  much." 

"Why,  my  good  fellow,  how  you  mistake  me!  I  am  no 
warrior,  any  more  than  I  am  an  alligator.  I  consider  the 
idea  of  chivalry  to  be  most  broadly  burlesqued,  in  our  firing 
at  these  poor  naked  rascals  with  our  terrible  and  resistless 
weapons.  I  should  never  have  brought  myself  to  do  murder 
upon  them,  but  that  I  found,  in  the  first  camp  we  sacked, 
that  they  only  carried  parched  wheat  with  them  on  their  expe 
ditions.  I  accordingly  set  them  down  as  the  primitive  origi 
nators  of  all  those  Grahamitish  sins  of  light  diet  which  sent 
you  out  here  an  aimless  wanderer,  and,  therefore,  gave  them 
my  pistol-balls  with  peculiar  relish.  It  is  a  ludicrous  mistake, 
though,  to  suppose  that  there  is  knighthood  or  valour  in 
fighting,  at  any  odds,  such  a  pitiable  foe.  It  is  vastly 
chivalric — first  to  see  your  enemy  enfeebled  by  starvation, 
and  then  strike  him  because  he  is  too  weak  to  lift  his  arm !" 

"  I  judge  you  will  find  out,  before  we  are  done  with  these 
4  naked  rascals,'  as  you  call  them,  that  there  is  something 
sufficiently  formidable  and  annoying  in  their  enmity,  to  make 
them,  if  not  *  foemen  worthy  of  your  steel'  in  the  chivalric 
sense,  at  least  worthy  extermination  in  the  common  sense." 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it ;  I  only  shudder  with  apprehension  for 

the  poor  wretches,  since  every  time  we  meet  them  I  expect 
T2 


222  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

to  see  you  '  spiritually  moved'  to  deliver  them  a  homily  upon 
the  sin  and  consequences  of  eating  beef,  and  to  find  the 
tawny  reprobates  so  exalted  by  your  apostolic  eloquence,  that 
they  will  eschew  the  '  flesh-pots'  forthwith,  and  make  such  a 
descent  upon  the  gardens  and  granaries  of  civilization,  aa 
will  quite  astound  your  benevolence !" 

"  My  benevolence  or  philosophy,  as  you  choose,  is  not  so 
easily  astounded.  I  have  eaten  meat  myself  since  we  came 
out  here,  and  should  continue  to  do  so  if  I  had  it  in  my 
power  to  use  other  food.  I  shall  conform  to  the  conditions 
of  savage  life  so  long  as  I  have  no  means  or  power  of  elevat 
ing  it ;  but  what  is  morally  and  physically  true  of  the  life 
here,  is  not  necessarily  so  of  the  higher  life  of  civilization. 
It  may  be  well  enough  for  the  warrior,  whose  trade  is 
blood,  to  live  upon  the  death  of  red-blooded  animals  ;  but  for 
the  philosopher,  who  deals  with  the  lofty  themes  of  pure 
intellection,  to  congest  and  fever  the  clear-eyed  calm  of  his 
benignant  purpose  with  such  gross  and  bestial  juices,  is  to 
me  revolting.  I  am  quite  conscious  that  I  live  the  life  of  a 
brute  and  a  savage  now,  but  that  does  not  decrease  my 
aspiring  veneration  for  the  highest  possibilities  of  our  de 
velopment.  The  machinery  of  society  is  oiled  by  compro 
mises,  and  this  is  one  I  am  willing  to  make." 

"  Do  you  know,  Frank,  I  pity  you  greatly.  You  have 
evidently  been  born  too  late.  The  time  of  the  lawgivers, 
prophets,  and  reformers  is  long  since  past.  You  are  not  a 
Mohammed  or  a  Moses — therefore  you  clearly  belong  to  the 
modern  type  of  fanatic,  and  it  has  so  emphatically  secured 
the  derision  of  civilization,  that  I  am  not  surprised  that  you 
should  take  refuge  amid  the  unsophisticated  stupidity  of  this 
savage  life.  You  have  some  chance  here,  for  you  can  at 
least  preach  to  the  deer  and  buffalo,  provided  they  will  conde 
scend  to  stop  and  listen  to  you." 

"  Whether  the  deer  and  buffalo  pause  or  not,  I  feel  assured 
that  '  Humanity'  will  at  some  time  listen  to  this  thought. 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF  THE  IsTEBRASKA.  223 

But,  however,  the  dark  is  coming  on,  and  here,  in  this  green 
meadow,  beside  that  stream,  is  a  beautiful  place  for  camping." 

"Agreed." 

Upon  a  swift  and  narrow  branch  of  the  arrowy  Nebraska, 
this  company  of  wanderers  pitched  their  tents — or  rather 
spread  down  their  blankets — for  the  night.  The  shadows 
settle  over  them,  and  darkness  rested  there. 

The  night  was  spent,  in  many  respects,  like  other  nights, 
but  the  tired  sentinels  must  have  slept  at  their  posts  on  the 
last  watches,  for,  when  the  full  morning  came,  they  looked 
around  in  vain  for  their  horses,  which  had  been  staked  out 
to  graze  at  a  little  distance  about  the  camp.  They  gazed 
over  the  prairies  until  their  eyes  ached — they  turned  toward 
the  forest,  along  the  banks  of  the  stream,  but  its  dark  sha 
dows  revealed  nothing. 

Poor  fellows  !  Could  it  be  !  on  foot  in  this  vast  and  remote 
wilderness  ?  What  can  they  do  ?  How  can  they  ever  get 
back  to  civilization  ?  Mariners,  left  by  their  wrecked  vesse1 
on  some  desert  island,  would  scarcely  have  been  more  deso 
late  than  they. 

They  rubbed  their  eyes — they  stared  and  stared  about 
them,  but  it  was  of  no  avail — the  thing  was  done !  Their 
horses  had  been  quietly  "stampeded"  during  the  night,  and 
were  now  far  enough  away,  scurrying  over  the  wide  prairie 
before  some  band  of  Indian  plunderers. 

Our  friend  Clenny  rages  and  fumes.  It  is  an  alternative 
he  had  never  calculated  upon.  His  contempt  for  "  the  half- 
naked  rascals"  was  somewhat  ameliorated,  when  he  came  to 
recognise  fully  the  extent  and  amount  of  the  mischief  done 
by  their  silent  prowess.  The  hunters  had  scattered  in  every 
direction  in  the  bootless  search,  and  the  two  young  m<in  were 
left  alone  in  the  camp  in  the  chagrin  of  their  solitude.  They 
stood  together  on  the  border  of  the  prairie,  and  looked  out 
upon  its  blank  and  vast  perspective  with  a  forlorn  and  hope 
less  expression  that  was  almost  ludicrous. 


224  THE   WILD   GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA. 

"Frank,  may  the  devil  take  you  and  your  scatterbrain 
projects  !  Would  I  had  been  tied  to  the  bed-post,  and  you 
to  your  grandmother's  apron-string,  before  this  silly  expedi* 
tion  was  undertaken  !  But  for  your  eccentric  babyisms,  we 
should  be  comfortably  secure  now  in  our  arm-chairs,  with 
coffee  and  breakfast  before  us,  instead  of  having  the  unre 
lieved  prospect  of  some  thousand  miles  or  so,  over  valley,  hill, 
and  plain,  on  foot,  with  the  sure  alternative  of  starvation  to 
console  us." 

"  Good  !  good !  I  thought  just  now  that  these  half-clad 
savages  were  in  every  sense  too  contemptible  to  interrupt,  in 
the  slightest  degree,  the  calm  equanimity  of  your  life  !  The 
case  is  bad  enough,  I  must  confess,  and  we  have  the  prospect 
of  trudging  back  home  on  foot.  But  ho !  What  is  that 
coming  toward  us,  with  such  directness,  out  of  the  vague 
distance  over  the  prairie  ?" 

"  It  is  some  wild  animal." 

"  No,  no  !  It  is  my  gentle  and  dear  Celeste !  She  has 
escaped  from  the  rude  brutes,  and  is  coming  back  to  me  !" 

As  the  young  man  spoke,  the  beautiful  mare  came  rushing 
past  Clenny  right  up  to  him,  and  thrust  her  small  head 
against  his  bosom. 

"  Beautiful  Celeste,"  said  the  young  man,  as  he  gently 
patted  the  glistening  neck  of  his  returned  favourite,  "you 
would  not  stay  with  the  greasy  barbarians.  Welcome,  wel 
come  !  Come,  thou  faithful  pet,  we  will  go  out  into  the 
wilderness  again,  and  search  for  some  means  of  rescuing  our 
poor,  forlorn  comrades." 

It  required  but  a  few  moments  to  equip  the  willing  animal, 
and  then  bounding  into  the  saddle,  Frank  Carter  gayly  waved 
adieu  to  his  disheartened  friend,  and  darted  off  across  the 
plain  to  search  for  help  in  any  form. 

For  hours  and  hours  his  gallant  mare  kept  on  towards  the 
west  with  speed  that  did  not  flag.  The  rider  was  even  more 
weary  than  she  seemed  to  be,  and  still  they  both  urged  on. 


THE   WILD    GIRL    OF   THE    NEBRASKA.  225 

He  had  seen  nothing  yet  that  looked  like  hope,  when  out  of 
the  wide  prairie  he  rushed  beneath  the  deep  shadows  of  a 
heavy  forest,  skirting  a  stream. 

He  now  held  up  the  pace  of  his  mare,  and  as  the  last  rays 
of  the  setting  sun  fell  down  through  the  great  armed  trees, 
he  for  the  first  time  realized  that  he  was  lost.  He  had  in 
his  hurry  become  confused  as  to  the  direction  he  had  been 
going,  and  now  was  utterly  confounded  with  regard  to  the 
course  back  to  camp.  All  the  day  he  had  chased  the  shadow 
of  a  vague  hope,  and  now  even  that  had  vanished ;  not  even 
the  thousandth-and-one  chance  of  meeting  with  some  wan 
dering  fragment  of  a  friendly  Indian  tribe  remained,  as  it 
seemed. 

All  was  unrelieved  despondency  and  gloom  to  him.  Tho 
gallant  mare  dragged  her  once  elastic  feet  heavily  along,  as 
she  slowly,  and  at  random,  threaded  the  aisles  of  the  old 
forest.  Here  and  there  the  solemn  farewell  of  the  day  broke 
through  in  golden  splendour,  illumining  the  huge  trunks  even 
up  to  their  summits  and  most  minute  twigs,  and  down  to  the 
delicate  mosses  and  flower-bells  at  their  feet.  Though  the 
young  man  was  weary  and  heartsick,  yet  the  glory  of  the 
fading  evening  fell  across  his  spirit  with  a  forlorn  smile. 

He  had  no  craven  fears ;  for,  had  he  been  capable  of  such, 
his  arms  made  him  secure  against  prodigious  odds ;  but  he 
was  sad  because  his  friends  expected  him  to  come  back  with 
'help  to  them,  and  he  could  not  go,  since  he  was  now  as  help 
less  as  if  a  thousand  miles  intervened. 

His  beautiful  mare  walked  with  her  fine  ears  drooping,  and 
with  an  expression  of  utter  weariness  that  entirely  corre 
sponded  with  his  own  condition.  Ho  !  Her  ears  are  pricked 
forward,  and  she  starts  with  a  bound  and  a  clear  neigh.  Her 
fine  senses  have  discovered  something  friendly  in  the  pathless 
forest.  The  young  man  spurs  forward.  There,  beneath  a 
grand  old  beech-tree,  a  young  girl  is  mounted  on  a  black  and 

glossy  horse,  that  moves  as  if  inspired  with  all  volatile  es- 

15 


226  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA. 

sences  of  grace.  Our  wanderer  pauses,  for  a  slight  check 
will  stop  even  the  fresh  impulse  of  his  weary  Celeste.  This 
is  a  strange,  extravagant  sight  to  start  from  out  the  depths 
of  the  savage  wilderness — yet  it  is  real. 

A  young  girl,  with  golden  hair — and  it  is  not  less  golden 
that  the  mellow  sunset  mingles  with  its  glistening  threads — 
sits  easily  on  a  shining  horse,  that  goes  quickly  into  shadow, 
and  comes  glancing  into  light  again  as  it  circles  round  the 
tree. 

A  strange  attraction,  surely,  is  that  in  the  great  tree, 
round  which  she  circles  on  her  horse,  snapping  her  fingers, 
singing  as  she  whirls  !  On  a  large  limb  a  tawny  panther 
crouches.  Its  ears  are  laid  close  back  upon  its  head,  its  long 
tail  is  waving  to  and  fro,  and  it  is  ready  for  the  spring. 
Still  that  young  girl  gallops  round  and  round  him,  disturbing 
the  aim  of  its  gathered  leap  by  the  swift  movements  of  her 
beautiful  horse,  and  taunts  the  hot  glare  of  those  fierce  eyes, 
snapping  her  white  fingers  gayly  in  their  angry  gleam,  as  she 
goes  by ! 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  ADVENTURE. 

IT  was  strange  enough  how  that  young  creature  came  here 
— thus  illumining  the  savage  wilderness.  Her  presence,  too, 
would  have  been  strange  enough  anywhere,  for  it  expressed, 
at  a  glance,  all  the  wilful  and  bright  tenderness  of  the  young 
imbodied  April. 

But  by  what  spell,  yet  stranger  and  more  powerful,  had 
such  a  being  been  made  to  start  forth  from  this  blank  bar 
baric  wild — mounted,  too,  like  some  oriental  princess  coming 
out  of  Dream-land,  on  a  sleek  steed,  that  glistened  as  if  new 
sprung  from  a  young  poet's  brain ! 


THE   WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  227 

And  then  that  strange,  fantastic  whim  of  hers !  To  circle 
round  and  round  on  her  fleet  horse,  the  spotted  cougar  crouch 
ing  on  the  limb,  taunting  his  heated  eyes  as  she  went  by, 
with  snapping  fingers  and  her  mocking  song !  No  dreamer 
ever  dreamed  a  dream  of  such  wild,  subtile  daring,  and  yet 
our  poor,  forlorn  Frank  Carter  looked  upon  the  real  from 
beneath  drooping  lids. 

Hah  !  They  drooped  but  for  a  moment  with  the  over 
coming  weariness  of  his  long  ride  and  hopeless  mood,  but 
when  he  saw  to  realize  the  happy  gay,  audacity  of  that  bright 
creature,  his  eyes  flew  open  wide,  and  the  gleam  that  lit 
them  shot  through  all  his  frame,  and  caused  Celeste  to  bound 
forward,  sympathetically  with  all  her  morning  springiness. 

The  young  girl,  who  was  intent  upon  her  perilous  sport, 
did  not  perceive  him,  even,  although  very  near — when  her 
black  steed  pricked  his  ears  forward  sharply,  and  gave  her 
warning  that  either  friend  or  foe  was  coming. 

She  did  not  turn  her  eyes  from  off  those  of  the  dangerous 
brute  she  was  teasing,  but,  watching  her  chance,  quickly 
urged  her  fiery  animal,  lifting  him  by  the  rein  at  the  same 
time — one  tremendous  leap  ! — the  circle  was  broken,  and  she 
was  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the  cougar's  spring. 

She  does  not  pause,  but  the  \black  steed  darts  off  with 
much  longer  and  swifter  bounds  through  the  trees. 

Poor  Carter,  whose  life  has  suddenly  been  inspired,  now 
perceives  the  beamy  source  of  the  inspiration  to  be  vanishing 
through  the  shadows. 

With  her  flying  form  goes  all  the  hope  of  many  things  as 
dear  or  dearer  even  to  him  than  life — the  prospect  of  finding 
his  friend  and  comrades  again — of  rescuing  them  from  their 
painful  position,  and  worse  than  even  this — of  losing  from 
his  sight  the  clearest,  brightest  gleam  of  beauty  that  has 
ever  crossed  his  path  ! 

He  is  utterly  maddened  by  the  thought,  and  wildly  urges 
his  exhausted  mare.  But  Celeste  has  caught  the  fire  of  his 


228  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE  NEBRASKA. 

eager  will — for  her  instinct  teaches  her  that  to  follow  that 
flying  steed  must  lead  her  to  food  and  rest,  and  so  she  bounds 
away  as  if  with  renewed  wings,  and  needs  not  the  hot  urgings 
of  his  impatience. 

Away  they  go,  pursuer  and  pursued,  down  long  aisles  of 
the  old  forest,  flying  with  speed  across  the  deepening  shadows. 
Now  and  then  he  perceives,  far  ahead  of  him,  a  glimpse  of 
fluttering  drapery  between  the  trees,  and  this  is  enough  to 
lead  him. 

It  was  vain  for  him  to  shout  after  her — for,  in  the  stupor 
of  his  surprise,  he  had  forgotten  to  do  this  until  she  was  far 
enough  beyond  the  reach  of  his  voice. 

Now  she  is  gone — she  has  disappeared  utterly — the  last 
flutter  of  the  drapery  that  guided  him  has  met  his  aching 
eye — alas  !  poor  Frank,  how  his  heart  beats  ! 

The  forest  has  suddenly  grown  more  close  with  thickets  of 
underbrush,  and  among  these  she  has  quickly  glided,  disap 
pearing  like  some  fleet  white-footed  vision  through  the  gates 
of  sleep. 

"  Curses  !  curses  !"  muttered  the  young  man,  from  out  the 
depths  of  his  despair,  as  he  checked  up  to  look  for  the  trail 
of  her  horse ;  "  I  have  overrun  her  trail  far  enough  by  this 
time  !  Oh  !  accursed  luck — or  stupidity,  rather  !  What 
shall  I  do  ?" 

Then  acting  under  a  sudden  impulse,  he  gave  the  reins  to 
his  mare,  while  he  muttered — 

"  Her  astonishing  instinct  has  often  befriended  me  before, 
perhaps  it  may  now." 

The  sagacious  creature  instantly  understood,  and  turned 
abruptly  to  the  left  of  the  course  he  was  pursuing.  Her  pace 
for  the  last  few  moments  had  greatly  fagged,  as  if  she  was 
discouraged  by  the  knowledge  that  they  were  going  wrong ; 
but  now  she  bounded  on  as  buoyantly  as  at  the  beginning  of 
the  day. 

Frank  Carter  had  so  often  tested  the  sagacity  of  horses 


THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA.        229 

under  such  circumstances  of  bewilderment  to  the  rider,  and 
felt  such  entire  confidence  in  that  of  the  high-bred  crea 
ture  he  now  rode,  that  the  blood  rushed  back  to  his  temples 
with  a  warm  flush  of  reviving  hope,  and  raising  himself  in 
the  stirrup,  he  laughed  aloud — 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  my  vagabond  Sprite  of  the  woods  ! — we  will 
catch  you  yet !" 

A  clear,  musical  laugh  rang  out  in  silvery  gladness,  close 
to  his  side.  Celeste  gave  a  desperate  shy,  that  nearly  threw 
him  from  the  saddle. 

He  turned  his  head  as  quickly  as  he  could  recover  his  seat, 
and  just  in  time  to  see  the  strange  object  of  his  wild  pursuit 
vaulting  her  black  horse  in  a  tremendous  leap  across  the 
deep,  wide  fissure  cut  down  into  the  alluvion  by  a  small  stream 
which  passed  a  few  paces  to  the  right  of  his  course. 

She  drew  up  on  the  other  side  and  turned,  still  laughing 
merrily. 

"Your  vagabond  Wood-Sprite  is  not  so  easily  caught,  sir ! 
Now  follow  my  Black  Hawk  across  that  gap,  if  you  can  ?" 

"  If  I  only  had  wings,  I  might ;  but  my  poor  Celeste  is 
leg-weary." 

"  Pity,  for  she  seems  a  beautiful  creature  !  But  you,  sir  ! 
— who  are  you  ?  As  you  can't  get  at  me,  I  will  hold  a  parley 
with  you,  and  want  a  few  questions  answered ;  you  had  as 
well  be  docile,  and  answer  me  in  downright  honesty — for  if 
you  displease  me,  I  shall  leave  you  to  your  fate — since  I  judge 
you  to  be  lost,  and  it  will  be  impossible  for  you  to  get  across 
the  deep  cut  of  that  stream,  this  night,  to  follow  me ;  and 
besides,  Black  Hawk  can  beat  your  Celeste  running,  clear 
out  of  sight." 

"Not  so  sure  of  that,  my  pretty  chatterbox!"  said  Frank 
Carter,  with  a  slight  laugh,  while  his  heart  beat  high, — for 
there  was  a  musical  freshness  ir  that  voice  and  in  those 
bantering  words  that  started  his  bhod  in  career,  though  he 

could  see  her  form  very  indistinctly  through  the  deepening 
U 


230  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

shadows.  "  Give  Celeste  a  few  days  to  rest,  and  I  will  try 
the  truth  of  your  boast.  But,  to  answer  your  first  question, 
— I  am  a  Southern  planter,  and,  I  hope,  a  gentleman !  If 
that  satisfies  you,  let  us  have  your  next  question." 

"  You  Southern  planters,  I  suspect,  are  quaint  gentlemen, 
then ;  see  how  you  have  illustrated  them  !  First,  you  come 
suddenly  and  without  warning,  to  interrupt  the  private  amuse 
ments  of  an  innocent  young  maiden ;  then,  you  chase  her 
timid  flight  through  the  forest  as  furiously  as  if  she  had  been 
some  savage  wild  beast,  upon  whose  thick  hide  you  were 
emulous  to  wreak  your  chivalry ;  then,  to  crown  all,  you  in 
sult  her  by  calling  her  a  vagabond  Wood-Sprite !  Do  you 
Southern  gentlemen  habitually  deal  in  such  hard  names  about 
young  maidens?" 

"  Southern  gentlemen  are  not  frequently,  I  must  confess, 
honoured,  as  I  have  been,  by  an  introduction  to  such  mys 
terious  characters  as  Wood-Sprites — or  yourself;  therefore,  I 
cannot  undertake  to  say  how  their  language  would  be  guarded 
in  speaking  of  them — particularly  if  they  did  not  expect  to 
be  heard.  But  recollect,  most  merciless  mystery  !  that  you 
can  be  quite  as  witty  at  my  expense  when  we  are  a  little 
nearer  together.  I  fear  that  sweet  voice  will  catch  cold,  if 
you  persist  in  sending  it  out  on  the  night-air  so  far,  and  over 
this  water,  too !" 

"  Most  tender  solicitude,  that  of  yours,  my  gallant  South 
erner  !  But  you  must  first  tell  me  how  it  happens,  that  you 
are  here  in  this  wild,  dangerous  region,  alone ;  and  then,  if  I 
am  satisfied,  I  will  take  the  case  of  your  immediate  relief 
from  'durance  vile'  into  consideration." 

"  The  tale  is  soon  told.  The  horses  of  our  party  were 
stampeded  last  night,  and  every  one  carried  off;  but  my 
faithful  Celeste  here  would  not  stay  stampeded,  but  made 
her  escape,  and  came  back  at  full  speed  to  rub  her  head 
against  my  bosom.  I  came  off  on  her  to  look  for  help  at 
random,  and  got  lost,  as  you  conjectured ;  you  know  the  rest. 


THE  WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  231 

for  j-uu  can  best  explain  how  fate  has  made  this  dark  day 
bright  to  me !" 

"A  very  touching  story,  that — particularly  the  portion  of 
it  relating  to  the  conduct  of  your  gentle  Celeste — for  whose 
bright  sake  I  must  relent  towards  her  saucy  master.  She 
must  have  comfortable  quarters  this  night,  and  of  course  may 
bring  you  along — in  spite  of  the  sentimental  twang  you  gave 
to  the  close  of  your  piteous  tale !" 

"Any  way  !"  said  he,  laughing;  "I  am  willing  to  accept 
such  patronage  on  any  terms — only  let  me  be  nearer  you, 
and  I  am  content." 

"  Fie  !  fie  !  Hush  !  or  I  shall  be  compelled  to  make  you 
carry  Celeste  instead  of  she  you.  But  come  on,  and  I  will 
show  you  a  crossing-place  some  distance  farther  up." 

She  started  off  at  a  gallop,  waving  him  to  follow  with  her 
hand,  the  whiteness  of  which  showed  through  the  dark  which 
had  now  fairly  set  in. 

He  kept  along  the  stream  parallel  with  her  for  about  a 
mile,  in  perfect  silence,  when  she  suddenly  halted  and  ex 
claimed — 

"  Here,  my  chivalric  friend !  Here  you  can  get  across,  if 
you  are  careful.  It  is  a  crossing-place  for  deer  and  elk,  but 
its  ups  and  downs  are  very  abrupt  and  narrow.  Look  sharp 
for  the  path,  and  leave  the  rest  to  Celeste !" 

This  last  caution  he  was  by  this  time,  if  not  before,  wise 
enough  to  profit  by.  Horses  see  better  in  the  dark  than 
men,  as  he  was  aware,  and  after  getting  into  the  deep  trace, 
he  gave  up  the  reins  passively.  The  sagacious  animal  de 
scended  with  great  caution,  and  before  she  reached  the  bottom 
gathered  her  feet  together  after  the  fashion  of  mules  in  de 
scending  steep  places,  and  steadily  slid  the  rest  of  the  way. 
When  the  water  was  reached,  and  Celeste  paused  to  slake 
her  thirst  in  the  shallow  but  singularly  rapid  stream,  he 
looked  up,  and  perceived  that  it  had  cut  the  banks  square 


232        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

down  some  twenty  feet.     This  would  have  been  an  ugly  pit 
fall  to  stumble  into  in  the  dark ! 

Now,  by  a  desperate  struggle  of  the  gallant  mare  the 
ascent  was  gained,  and  he  stood  side  by  side  with  the  en 
chantress  who  had  led  him  so  wild  a  chase. 

"  Gallantly  done,  my  brave  Celeste !"  and  she  stooped 
forward  to  caress,  with  her  white  hand,  the  slight  neck  of 
the  gentle  animal.  "  You  shall  have  a  good  night's  lodging 
for  that  same  feat !  How  silky  her  hair  is  !"  she  exclaimed, 
with  a  childlike  expression  of  astonishment,  as  she  ran  her 
fingers  through  the  wavy  mane  of  the  panting  Celeste. 

"  The  mare  is  well  enough,  but  I,  too,  have  silken  hair ; 
may  I  not  claim  some  slight  recognition  as  well  ?"  said  he, 
in  a  tone  of  affected  pettishness. 

"  Upon  my  word,  I  did  not  know,  sir,  that  your  hair  was 
silken — it  is  too  dark  for  me  to  see ;  consider  yourself,  then, 
if  you  please,  as  recognised  through  the  coincidence  !" 

"Accept  my  gratitude  for  the  large  honour." 

"  With  pleasure,  sir !  But  come !  come  !  it  is  time  this 
dear  Celeste  was  stabled,  and  I  suppose  she  must  bring  you, 
whether  or  no  !  Come,  Celeste  !  Black  Hawk  and  I  are  off! 
— bring  him  with  you — you  may!"  and  with  a  gay  laugh  she 
darted  along  the  old  trace,  followed  by  Celeste  whom  she 
had  so  coquettishly  dignified,  and  her  laughing  burden,  our 
philosophical  friend,  Frank  Carter. 

For  some  distance,  the  trace  was  too  narrow  for  them  to 
approach  sufficiently  near  for  conversation — but  then  it 
widened  rapidly,  so  that  before  they  had  passed  from  be 
neath  the  heavy  gloom  of  the  forest,  the  emulous  Celeste  had 
closed  up  alongside  of  the  light-heeled  Black  Hawk — for  she, 
too,  had  been  inspired  by  the  soft  touch  of  those  white  hands — 
and  of  course  brought  along  her  depreciated  burden  with  her 
"into  position." 

Frank  Carter  felt  the  strange,  delicious  thrill  of  a  new  joy 
passing  into  his  life.  His  voice  trembled  slightly,  with  a 


THE  WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  233 

tender  eagerness  he  could  not  control,  but  endeavoured  to 
conceal  under  the  affectation  of  humorous  bantering. 

"  Ha  !  it  becomes  you,  most  wicked  and  incomprehensible 
of  sprites,  to  remember  that  you  are  now  in  my  power ;  and 
confess  to  me,  on  penalty  of  losing  your  wings,  what  sort  of 
resting-place  you  expect  to  find  in  this  wild  and  gloomy 
forest,  to-night.  I  suspect  it  will  prove  to  be  some  mighty 
Druidical  work,  amid  the  moss-draped  boughs  of  which  your 
light  hammock  swings — while  Black  Hawk  is  stabled  at  the 
hollow  root !  Will  there  be  room,  think  you,  for  poor  Celeste, 
in  such  narrow  quarters?" 

"  Never  mind,  inquisitive  sir,  whether  my  house  be  on  the 
earth,  under  the  earth,  or  above  the  earth,  so  that  Celeste 
be  properly  provided  for ;  and,  besides,  supposing  your  sup 
position  to  be  true,  Black  Hawk,  I  can  tell  you,  sir,  is  a  gal 
lant  gentleman — for  I  have  not  heard  him  call  Celeste  a 
single  hard  name  yet,  or  threaten  to  cut  her  ears  off  with 
his  teeth,  as  my  wings  were  threatened  once  by  somebody 
under  the  moon  ! — Black  Hawk  would  surrender  his  stall, 
and  neigh  with  delight  at  the  opportunity  of  so  honouring 
himself." 

"Fortunate  Celeste!  you  shall  surely  be  embalmed,  in 
honour  of  the  interest  you  have  excited,  if  I  do  not  have  the 
misfortune  to  die  first  of  envy !"  said  the  young  man,  in  a 
dolorous  voice,  stooping  to  pat  the  animal's  neck. 

The  merry  girl  bent  forward,  too,  over  her  saddle-bow,  in 
an  ecstasy  of  laughter, — but  it  was  subdued,  like  the  soft 
twittering  of  an  oriole  singing  in  its  dreams. 

Now  they  emerged  from  beneath  the  deep  shadows  of  the 
forest  into  the  open  prairie,  and,  as  she  raised  her  delicate 
face,  the  cold  moon  shone  upon  its  white,  laughing  beauty, 
and  was  warmed  amid  the  golden  tangles  of  the  curls  that 
fell  about  it  from  beneath  her  close  riding-cap. 

"  Well !    well !    be    comforted,  poor   gentleman.      I  will 

(J2 


234  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

undertake,  with  the  most  disinterested  pleasure,  to  officiate 
for  you  in  the  same  capacity,  provided  such  an  event  occurs. 
I  should  like  myself  to  have  you  preserved  as  an  extraordi 
nary  specimen  of  sentimental  melancholy,  and  should  label 
you,  for  the  warning  of  future  ages,  'Died  of  a  broken 
heart.' " 

And  indeed,  to  have  witnessed  the  rapt,  ecstatic  trance  of 
gazing  wonder  into  which  our  friend  the  enthusiast  had  fallen 
since  the  upturning  of  that  face  in  the  clear  moonlight,  one 
would  have  been  justified  in  fearing  some  sentimental  ca 
tastrophe. 

If  the  partial  glimpse  he  had  obtained  of  that  face  at  the 
tree  had  been  sufficient  to  thrill  the  core  of  his  life  and  urge 
him  on  through  the  desperate  pursuit  which  followed,  this 
clear  unveiling  of  it  held  him  in  a  sort  of  trembling  awe  that 
lulled  his  whole  being  into  the  mute  reverence  of  worship  of 
a  God-revealed  beauty,  the  presence  of  which  was  even  now 
at  his  side ! 

His  nature,  electrically  convulsed,  was  changed — utterly 
changed  in  one  wild  instant.  The  strong  spell  was  on  him. 
He  had  lived  a  century  in  the  time  of  a  few  hushed  breath 
ings.  The  world  was  the  same  world,  and  went  around  on 
its  old  axle  at  the  same  appointed  speed — but  now,  it  had 
hurled  its  shadowy  garments  off  through  the  dark  space,  and 
let  in  a  new  light,  flashing  over  it — revealing  itself  to  him  so 
calmly  glorious,  that  he  marvelled  whether  he  was  not  stand 
ing  in  a  dream  upon  some  starry  paradise. 

This  glorifying  light  was  in  himself,  though  not  the  less  real 
to  him.  The  smouldering  fires  upon  that  sacred  altar  in  the 
centre  of  his  life,  which  he  had  so  long  and  jealously  guarded, 
had,  at  last,  been  lit  by  the  searching  spark,  which,  alone, 
could  rouse  them ;  and  they  had  flamed  up  through  all  the 
senses,  illumining  the  outer  world  through  every  portal. 

Before  the  end  of  her  last  speech,  the  young  girl  had  been 


THE  WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  235 

arrested  by  the  strange  intensity  of  his  look.  Her  face 
sobered  in  an  instant,  while  her  voice,  too,  sobered  with  the 
conclusion.  A  bright  light,  that  had  shone  from  out  her 
whole  face,  seemed  to  gather  towards  her  eyes,  leaving  the 
rest  of  the  face  at  once  solemnly  cold,  and  centring  in  them 
with  a  keen  and  glittering  brilliancy  that  was  almost  blinding, 
dwelt  steadily  with  those  of  the  young  man  through  some 
moments  of  profound  and  mutual  silence. 

That  look !  that  look !  as  their  swift  horses  sped  on  beneath 
the  brilliant  moonlight,  and  they  with  faces  turned  gazed  in 
a  flashing,  still  communion,  into  each  other's  eyes !  One 
soul,  at  least,  was  born  again ! 

Ah !  that  was  a  fearful  moment — pregnant  with  all  the 
purpose  and  the  joy  of  one  life,  or  of  both !  We  shall  see. 

Frank  Carter  was  mute ;  he  forgot  to  inake  any  reply,  or 
that  any  was  necessary.  His  life  was  stilled  within  itself, 
striving  to  realize  the  bliss  of  the  new  birth. 

The  strange,  bright  creature  by  his  side  was  silent,  too,  as 
if  she  felt  her  being  had  been  strangeiy  startled ;  but  then 
she  urged  her  horse  impatiently,  until  he  had  bounded  many 
paces  ahead  of  the  weary  Celeste.  It  seemed  as  if  she  were 
rushing  away,  utterly  to  leave  them. 

Poor  Carter  was  stupified,  and  had  not  realized  the  danger, 
when  Celeste  neighed  with  such  an  agonizing,  shrill,  peculiar 
neigh,  as  can  only  come  from  out  the  chest  of  a  noble  horse, 
weary  and  starving,  who  trumpets  the  despairing  alarm  for 
help. 

Black  Hawk  heard  it  and  stopped.  The  young  girl  passed 
her  hand  quickly — as  if  confused — across  her  brow,  and  then 
wheeled  the  eager  animal  to  return.  She  galloped  back,  and 
reining  up  close  to  the  side  of  Carter,  she  leaned  forward 
towards  his  ear,  and  said,  with  a  musical  shout — 

"  Ho  !  Hilloa  !  Dreamer,  wake  up  !  The  lights  of  my 
father's  rancho  are  in  sight.  We  shall  be  there  in  a  few 


236        THE  WILD  GIRL  OP  THE  NEBRASKA. 

moments,  and  I  would  not  have  him  imagine  I  have  picked 
up  some  vagabond,"  and  she  lifted  her  finger,  archly — "What 
shall  I  say — lunatic  or  genius  ?  So  wake  up,  and  make  your 
self  presentable,  by  self-possession,  before  a  pair  of  eyes  that 
read  men  mathematically !" 

The  trance  was  over  with  him  for  the  time,  for  her  levity 
shocked  him  out  of  it. 

"Bah!"  said  he,  "  I  have  a  contempt  in  general  for  minds 
which  call  themselves  mathematical — those  which  are  really 
so,  never  know  it,  and  only  express  it  in  results — those  who 
feel  the  want  of  this  great  poising  central  element  of  thought, 
always  manage  to  get  the  reputation  for  it,  through  the  noise 
they  make  to  conceal  their  great  want.  However,"  said  he, 
with  a  laugh,  "  understand  that  I  shall  be  entirely  prepared 
in  meeting  this  mathematical  father  of  yours  to  recognise 
him  through  the  i  coincidence  !'  ' 

Frank  Carter  said  this  with  more  bitterness  than  he  him 
self  could  have  accounted  for. 

These  young  people  were  now  farther  apart  than  when 
they  first  spoke  together,  and  yet  neither  could  tell  the  reason 
why.  It  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  grand  passion,  which 
time  may  explain. 

The  lights  which  were  in  the  distance  now  seemed  close  at 
hand,  and  as  they  came  from  the  prairie  into  the  edge  of  the 
skirting  forest,  all  the  sounds  and  sights  peculiar  to  a  rancho 
of  the  extreme  frontier  greeted  them  at  once. 

They  dismounted  amid  the  barbarous  hubbub  in  which 
the  lowing  of  cows,  bleating  of  sheep  and  goats,  the  neighing 
of  horses,  the  baying  of  dogs,  and  the  jargon  of  Indians  of 
all  ages  collected  before  the  gates  of  the  high,  strong  pick 
eting,  which  surrounded  the  rancho,  were  mingled. 

The  arrival  of  their  bright  mistress  was  greeted  with  shouts 
by  all  the  Indians,  of  every  age,  who  were  collected  as  if 
awaiting  her  coming.  They  gave  up  their  horses  to  these 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  237 

willing  servants,  though  not  until  the  young  girl  had  given 
an  imperative  injunction  to  several  with  regard  to  the  treat 
ment  of  Celeste. 

Turning  now,  they  mounted  the  high  blocks  leading  to  the 
top  of  the  picketing  which  surrounded  the  rancho. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  QUARREL  AND  THE  BREAKFAST. 

FRANK  CARTER  and  his  fair  guide,  on  descending  the 
stiles  of  the  picketing,  found  themselves  in  the  wide  court 
of  the  rancho. 

On  the  two  sides  of  the  square,  as  they  advanced,  were 
low  ranges  of  huts,  composed  of  smaller  picket-posts,  the 
interstices  of  which  were  filled  with  moss  and  mud.  A  buffalo* 
robe  hung  across  each  entrance,  and  served  for  a  door — while 
the  flat  roofs  were  thatched  with  bulrushes. 

The  opposite  side  of  the  square  towards  which  they  were 
moving,  presented  a  higher  front,  the  upright  posts  of  which 
were  larger,  while  there  appeared  to  be  but  a  single  entrance 
in  the  centre,  which  was  closed  by  a  wide,  strong  door. 

The  light  streamed  out  from  a  part  of  its  length,  through 
small,  square  openings,  like  the  portrholes  in  the  sides  of  a 
man-of-war.  The  noise  which  heralded  their  approach,  had 
evidently  caused  some  commotion  inside,  and  the  lights  were 
seen  glancing  to  and  fro  behind  the  port-holes,  passing  ra 
pidly  along  the  whole  length  of  the  front.  The  lights  shone 
for  an  instant  through  the  port-holes  of  that  portion  of  it 
which  had  been  heretofore  obscured,  and  then  it  was  left 
again  in  darkness.  All  this  Frank  Carter  observed  before 
they  reached  the  great  door  in  the  centre,  for  their  way  was 
absolutely  impeded  by  the  crowd  of  dogs  composed  of 


238  THE   WILD    GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA. 

"Mongrel 'grim, 

Hound  or  spaniel,  brach  or  lym, 
Or  bobtail  tike  or  trundle-tail," 

which  came  thronging  about  them,  smelling  at  the  stranger, 
or  bounding  in  rude  gambols  around  the  feet  of  their  young 
mistress. 

When  they  reached  the  great  door,  the  young  girl  seized 
a  string  which  hung  outside,  and  jerking  it  sharply,  caused  a 
loud  rattling  within. 

After  the  delay  of  a  few  moments,  the  bolts  within  were 
sprung,  and  as  the  heavy  door  swung  slowly  back,  a  mellow, 
manly  voice  exclaimed — 

"  What  has  kept  you  out  so  late  ? — this  is  dangerous,  my 
daughter !" 

A  stout  man,  dressed  in  fringed  buckskins,  with  a  brace 
of  pistols  at  his  belt,  stood  in  the  doorway. 

"Papa,  I  have  brought  my  excuse  for  the  delay  along 
with  me — here  he  is!"  and  she  made  way  for  Frank  Carter, 
who  had  been  standing  in  the  shade  behind  her,  to  come 
forward  and  present  himself. 

The  man  lifted  the  large  iron  lamp  he  carried,  above  his 
head,  and  as  Carter  stepped  boldly  and  quickly  forward,  he 
fell  back  with  a  gliding  movement,  while  his  hand,  as  it 
seemed,  involuntarily  moved  towards  his  pistol,  though  it 
dropped  quickly  again. 

There  was  no  appearance  of  startle,  or  even  surprise,  in 
the  face  of  this  man,  upon  which  the  habitual  smile  about  the 
facile  mouth  was  unbroken.  The  gesture  seemed  to  be  rather 
one  of  habitual  caution  than  of  fear.  His  hair  was  as  white 
as  the  driven  snow,  and  but  for  the  extraordinary  contrast 
of  heavy  eyebrows,  which  were  as  black  as  midnight,  and 
compelled  the  eye  to  dwell  on  them,  it  would  never  have  been 
observed  that  a  slight  shade  of  vexation  crossed  them  th^ 
moment  his  glance  took  in  the  whole  figure  of  Frank. 


THE   WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  239 

The  men  stood  facing  each  other,  with  steady  regard, 
without  speaking,  for  several  moments. 

The  young  girl  came  forward  with  a  very  demure  look, 
and  said — 

"  Papa,  I  found  this  person  lost  and  wandering  through 
the  dangerous  forest  of  the  Black  Walnut  Bottom.  His 
beautiful  mare,  Celeste,  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  I  knew 
they  would  both  break  their  necks  by  stumbling  through  the 
dark  into  some  of  the  deep  cuts  which  cross  it,  so  I  took 
them  under  my  patronage,  and  piloted  them  here  for  safety." 

"You  did  right,  my  child,"  said  the  gray-haired  man; 
and,  bowing  with  a  bland,  benevolent  smile,  to  Frank  Carter, 
said,  "You  are  welcome  to  the  rude  shelter  and  hospitalities 
of  my  rancho,  sir.  Walk  in." 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  said  Carter,  somewhat  stiffly,  and  still 
pausing  at  the  threshold.  "  The  horses  of  my  party  were 
stampeded  this  morning  by  the  Indians,  and  I  was  on  the 
look-out  for  help  for  my  comrades,  when  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  meet  this  young  lady." 

"A  very  common  accident  in  this  region.  But  come,  sir, 
walk  in,  if  you  please.  We  will  first  see  to  your  own  com 
fort,  and  then  to-morrow  we  will  concert  measures  for  the 
relief  of  your  friends  ;"  and  he  turned,  holding  the  lamp 
courteously,  so  as  to  show  the  way,  and  led  the  young  man 
back  through  a  passage  formed  of  stout  stockading,  like  the 
outside.  At  the  farther  extremity  there  was  a  door  on  either 
side,  opposite.  He  threw  open  the  door  on  the  left,  and 
handing  the  lamp  to  the  young  girl,  said — "  See  to  the  gen 
tleman's  comfort,  while  I  return  to  refasten  the  entrance." 
Then  he  bowed  to  Carter — "  Enter,  sir ;  and  please  excuse 
me  for  an  instant.  We  find  the  precaution  of  bolts  and  bars 
is  not  to  be  neglected  here." 

He  retired,  and  Carter  followed  the  young  girl  into  a 
square  apartment,  the  sides  of  which  were  roughly  plastered 
over  the  logs. 


240        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

A  fire  blazed  merrily  upon  the  broad  hearth  at  the  farther 
extremity,  and  though  Carter  had  not  realized  that  the  night 
was  somewhat  chilly,  he  now  found  its  heat  very  pleasant  as 
he  approached. 

The  young  girl  placed  the  lamp  upon  a  rough  board  table, 
and  pointing  to  a  side  of  the  room  along  which  a  number  of 
guns  were  ranged  in  racks,  formed  of  buck's  horns  nailed 
against  the  logs,  said — 

"  See,  there  is  my  father's  armory.  You  can  dispose  of 
your  rifle  somewhere  amid  that  array  of  antlered  pride,  and 
then  be  seated." 

The  young  man  obeyed,  and  deposited  his  rifle  and  other 
equipments,  except  his  pistols,  which  he  retained  at  his  belt, 
as  he  had  perceived  that  his  host  wore  them  within  doors. 
The  young  girl,  who  was  divesting  herself  of  her  riding-cap, 
said,  with  something  like  her  former  gayety — 

"  I  hope,  sir,  although  you  may  not  find  this  home  of  mine 
quite  so  airy  as  the  one  you  supposed  me  to  occupy  in  the 
old  Druidical  oak,  that  it  will  nevertheless  prove  to  be  sub 
stantially  comfortable  after  your  exhausting  ride  !" 

"  Yes,  I  find  all  the  difference  to  be  in  favour  of  the  sub 
stantial  reality.  This  place  is  singularly  cosy,  and  promises, 
from  the  odours  of  the  kitchen,  something  more  than  a  '  sop 
of  moonshine'  for  supper." 

He  turned  as  he  spoke,  and  for  the  first  time  these  young 
people  confronted  each  other  with  heads  uncovered,  and  in 
the  blaze  of  a  broad  light,  too.  It  was  a  decisive  moment 
with  them  both. 

A  necessary  consequence  of  the  mutual  revulsion  which  wo 
have  described  as  occurring  directly  after  that  extraordinary 
interchange  of  electrical  sympathy  during  the  moonlight  ride, 
had  been  distrust  of  themselves  and  distrust  of  each  other. 
They  felt  as  if  the  astonishing  and  romantic  circumstances 
of  their  meeting  had  unduly  excited  their  senses  and  imagi 
nations.  That  possibly  the  object  of  this  excitement  would 


THE   WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  241 

appear,  under  other  conditions,  to  be  a  very  commonplace 
and  unattractive  person ;  then  these  riding-caps  had  obscured 
that  portion  of  the  face,  or  rather  head,  which  is  instinctively 
felt  to  be  the  most  significant  of  power,  sentiment,  and  truth. 

They  now  faced  each  other  with  those  white  fronts  un 
veiled,  which  are  the  tablets  upon  which  God's  own  hand  has 
placed  his  immortal  signet  of  the  Spiritual. 

It  is  beyond  measure  surprising  what  a  difference  in  our 
first  recognition  of  persons  is  sometimes  caused  by  the  simple 
act  of  lifting  a  hat  or  bonnet  from  the  face.  Both  remem 
bered  this  fact  in  their  experience,  and  were,  from  the  causes 
we  have  given,  prepared  to  be  shocked  in  some  degree. 

But,  whatever  the  effect,  there  was  but  a  moment  left  for 
its  expression. 

The  young  man  saw  her  golden  hair  fall  down,  from  its 
release,  upon  her  neck  like  a  shower  of  summer  sunshine  upon 
a  bank  of  snow — he  saw  that  in  breadth  and  height  her  head 
expressed  as  much  of  dignity  as  her  face  had  of  gentleness, 
sentiment,  and  wit — and  then  the  inexpressible  presence  of 
joy  and  beauty  which  had  charmed  and  arrested  his  whole 
life  ! — it  seemed  now  to  be  glorified  by  the  strong  light. 

The  young  man  had  only  time  to  see  this  in  one  timid 
glance,  and  to  meet  her  downcast  eye  as  it  flashed  on  him 
for  a  moment  from  beneath  the  drooping  lids — and  then  she 
turned  away  hastily. 

They  knew  each  other  now,  and  had  no  more  time  for,  or 
thought  of,  bantering  that  night  again :  at  least  Frank  Carter 
supposed  this  to  be  so,  and  that  her  sudden  turning  off  was 
caused  by  the  sound  of  the  quick  approaching  steps  of  her 
father. 

The  gray-haired  man  entered  the  room. 

"  Of  course,  sir,  you  are  hungry.  Child,  see  that  the 
gentleman  has  enough  of  substantial  comfort  to-night,  to 
make  him  realize  that  we  do  not  intend  to  starve  him,  after 

all  his  fatigue  and  fasting  since  the  morning." 
V  16 


242  THE   WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

"Yes,  papa!"  and  she  glided  out  through  an  opening 
beside  the  fire-place. 

"  Be  seated,  sir ;  our  chairs  are,  as  you  perceive,  con 
structed  after  a  primitive  model.  The  green  raw-hide, 
stretched  upon  this  frame,  when  once  dried,  holds  it  together 
like  iron — and  that,  too,  without  nails." 

"Yes,"  said  Frank,  as  he  seated  himself,  "  I  have  observed 
that  the  Southern  Indians  make  great  use  of  the  same  ma 
terial  ;  their  saddles  are  constructed  in  a  like  manner  with 
your  chairs,  and  are  as  firm  as  iron  could  make  them,  except 
under  a  long  soaking  in  the  water.  But  this  is  an  extra 
ordinary  position  of  yours,  so  remote  from  civilization  that  I 
am  surprised  to  find  even  common  comforts  around  you." 

"  Oh  !  comforts,  in  the  common  sense  of  civilization, 
we  have  none  of,  but  we  dare  to  live  here  as  boldly  as 
men  dream  they  can  live — that  is,  amid  plenty  and  without 
fear." 

Frank  Carter  turned  suddenly  to  look  in  the  face  of  the 
man  who  could  pronounce  himself  one  of  those  who  were 
wild  enough  to  hope  so  much  for  the  future  of  humanity. 

"What!"  said  he,  earnestly,  "are  you  Utopian,  and  at 
your  age,  too?  I  thought  young  poets  only  had  such  visions. 
I  should  hardly  expect  to  be  forgiven,  myself,  for  being 
guilty  of  the  audacity  of  supposing  that  the  time  might  come 
when  every  man  would  have  enough  to  eat,  and  no  one  be 
compelled  to  wear  pistols  at  his  belt." 

"What  you  say  of  ' pistols  at  his  belt'  would  be  witty 
enough  in  New  York,  but  here  it  is  too  much  an  inconvenient 
necessity  to  be  joked  about.  For  certainly,  if  a  prodigal 
Nature  yields  us  a  profuse  abundance,  the  ingenuity  of  Colt 
has  guaranteed  us,  in  his  revolvers,  a  secure  possession  thereof. 
I  can  only  control  the  savage  herd  about  me  by  the  terror 
which  the  constant  presence  of  this,  to  them,  mysterious  and 
really  formidable  weapon  inspires." 


THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA.        243 

"  You  seem  to  have  been  singularly  successful  in  taming 
these  wild  Ishmaelites  ?" 

"  Yes  !  I  have  been  a  sort  of  providence  to  these  you  see 
gathered  around  me.  I  found  them  the  forlorn  fragment  of 
a  tribe  that  had  been  cut  to  pieces  in  a  mortal  and  desperate 
feud  with  their  distant  neighbours,  the  Pawnees.  I  dis 
covered  they  were  remarkable,  even  among  Indians,  for  their 
skill  in  trailing ;  and,  as  this  is  a  very  useful  trait  in  the  life 
of  a  frontiersman,  I  secured  them  to  my  service  by  presents, 
and  have  gathered  them  about  me  in  the  double  capacity  of 
herdsmen  and  scouts." 

"Do  you  think  they  can  find  my  friends,  to-morrow?" 
said  Carter,  eagerly. 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it.  They  can  take  your  trail  back  from 
where  you  dismounted  this  night,  and  follow  it  up  through 
every  turn  of  your  wanderings,  to-day,  to  the  spot  from  which 
you  started ;  and  if  your  friends  have  been  patient  or  saga 
cious  enough  to  remain  where  you  left  them,  we  shall  find 
them  before  sundown." 

"  You  greatly  delight  and  reassure  me.  But,  if  I  may  not 
be  deemed  intrusive,  what  do  you  propose  to  accomplish  by 
a  settlement  so  remote  as  this  ?" 

"  Oh  !  as  to  that,  I  propose  to  accomplish  my  own  purposes, 
and  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  curiosity." 

"A  thousand  pardons,  sir  !"  said  Carter,  flushing  up  to  the 
roots  of  his  hair.  "  The  question  was  idly  asked.  I  mis 
took  you  for  a  philosopher,  and  supposed  that  your  purposes 
here  were  beneficent  and  candid.  I  hope  you  will  forgive  the 
impertinence." 

"  Hold  up,  my  young  friend  !"  said  the  gray-haired  man, 
laughingly.  "  The  question  was  natural  and  pertinent  enough, 
without  being  christened  m-pertinent ;  my  position  here  is 
sufficiently  novel  to  excite  curiosity  in  any  one.  I  did  not 
mean  my  answer  to  apply  to  you  in  particular — but  merely 
to  express  that  I  came  out  here  to  live  as  I  pleased,  apart 


244  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA. 

from  the  insolent  comments  and  saucy  prying  peculiar  to  the 
haunts  of  men.  You  evidently  have  enough  of  philosophy 
and  a  knowledge  of  the  world  in  you  to  understand  all  this, 
without  offence." 

"  Yes ;  I  hope  so.  But  pardon  me,  for  I  did  not  under 
stand — but" — 

Here  the  young  girl  came  back,  bearing  the  supper  on  a 
wooden  tray. 

Frank  Carter  was  unsentimental  enough  to  rather  rejoice 
in  the  steams  of  the  fat  venison,  though  in  her  divinest 
presence. 

She  set  the  food  on  the  table  before  him,  and  withdrew 
without  a  word. 

Soon  after  a  meal,  which  was  enjoyed  not  the  less  for  the 
fact  that  it  appeared  to  have  been  prepared  by  her,  Carter 
lay  down  upon  a  pile  of  buffalo-robes,  at  the  invitation  of  his 
host,  and  slept,  as  only  men  who  are  profoundly  weary  can 
sleep. 

When  morning  came,  the  first  thought  of  the  young  man 
was,  after  the  image  of  his  enchantress,  of  course,  that  of 
purchasing  horses  and  going  to  the  relief  of  his  friends.  He 
rose  soon  after  daybreak,  and  was  promptly  joined  by  his 
gray-haired  host. 

"  You  have  horses  for  sale,  sir,  I  judge,  from  the  general 
character  of  your  establishment?" 

"  Oh,  yes ;  plenty  of  them ;  come  with  me,  and  look  at  them." 

They  went  out  into  the  fresh  morning  air,  and  passing 
through  the  picketing  by  a  small  gate  behind  the  house,  came 
into  the  "  horse-pen." 

Here  were  fifteen  or  twenty  animals,  sleepily  leaning 
against  each  other. 

Frank  Carter  instantly  recognised,  among  them,  the  horses 
that  had  been  carried  off  in  the  stampede  from  his  camp,  and 
turned  upon  his  host  with  an  inquiring  look  of  startled 
astonishment. 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA.  245 

The  gray-haired  man  smiled  mischievously,  and  said,  with 
a  slight  laugh — 

"You  know  those  fellows,  do  you?" 

"  Yes  !"  said  Carter,  haughtily  drawing  up  his  person,  and 
flashing  his  wide  open  eyes  in  interrogation,  while  his  hand 
Bought  the  handle  of  his  pistol.  "  What  den  of  common 
robbers  or  horse-thieves  is  this  I  have  fallen  into  ?" 

"  Hold  !  hold  !  my  impulsive  friend  !  I  am  not  a  horse- 
thief,  nor  do  you  understand,  from  what  you  see,  half  of  what 
I  have  to  explain  to  you." 

But  our  impulsive  friend,  as  the  gray-haired  man  facetiously 
designated  him,  was  not  to  be  so  easily  restrained. 

The  fact,  that  the  horses  stolen  from  him  in  the  morning 
were  here  openly  exposed  in  the  horse-pen  of  the  rancho  of 
his  host,  was  instantly,  in  the  mind  of  Frank  Carter,  asso 
ciated  with  what  had  fallen  from  him  during  the  conversation 
of  the  preceding  night,  with  regard  to  the  uses  to  which  his 
Indians  were  applied,  with  all  their  remarkable  skill  in 
trailing. 

Then,  too,  he  remembered  the  pistols  worn  inside  the  for 
tress-like  building — the  cautious  stepping  back  as  he  entered 
— the  care  with  which  the  strong  door  was  bolted  and  barred 
when  he  and  the  young  girl  had  passed  in — and  now  the  cool 
and  smiling  impudence  with  which  he  had  been  shown  into 
the  horse-pen  to  look  upon  his  own  wrong.  All  combined 
to  flash  through  the  brain  of  Frank  Carter  the  startling  con 
viction  that  he  had  stumbled  or  been  decoyed  into  the  den  of 
an  audacious  frontier  robber,  whose  sang  froid  was  probably 
proportioned  to  the  sense  of  absolute  impunity  in  crime  which 
his  remote  position  secured  him. 

This  was  a  terrible  blow  to  poor  Frank  !  His  first  impulse 
was  one  of  fierce  indignation — and  even  a  deadly  resentment 
would  have  been  the  immediate  consequence,  but  that  the 
image  of  the  singular  enchantress  of  the  preceding  evening's 

adventure  crossed  his  brain,  from  heart-wise,  at  this  moment. 
V2 


246        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

restraining  his  quick  hand,  to  pause  and  listen  for  an 
instant. 

"  The  facts  speak  for  themselves — of  what  possible  expla 
nation  can  they  admit  ?  For,  if  not  a  robber  or  horse-thief, 
what  are  you?"  said  he,  sternly,  with  his  hand  still  resting 
on  the  handle  of  his  pistol. 

"  Why,"  said  the  gray-haired  man,  smiling  blandly,  "  I  am 
simply  an  honest  man,  so  circumstanced  and  surrounded  that 
I  cannot  help  the  occasional  dishonesty  of  those  in  my 
employ !" 

"  Pah !  I  should  think  your  honesty  might  find  a  very 
effectual  mode  of  protection  from  such  little  accidents  as  this, 
in  not  keeping  thieves  about  you.  How  do  you  account  for 
the  complacency  with  which  you  offered  me  horses  for  sale  as 
your  property,  of  the  mode  of  acquiring  which  you  knew 
nothing  ?" 

This  was  said  with  such  a  manner  of  lofty  and  insulting 
scorn,  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  should  have  aroused  rage  in  the 
breast  of  a  canonized  saint.  But  our  acquaintance  of  the 
black  eyebrows  only  elevated  them  with  a  more  benevolent 
and  friendly  look  than  ever. 

There  was  no  exaggeration  of  kindliness  or  friendliness — 
not  even  the  shadow  of  a  shade  of  what  might  be  termed 
insincerity,  much  less  derision,  that  could  be  apparent  to  an 
uninterested  observer  of  the  acutest  discernment,  in  that 
look,  or  in  the  mild,  open  smile  which  accompanied  it — yet  it 
aroused  to  the  utmost  degree  the  already  angry  mood  of 
Frank  Carter. 

He  had  been  abominably  outraged — had  expressed  with 
proper  emphasis  his  sense  of  it — had  even  assumed  an  ag 
gressive  posture,  and  yet  this  insolent  bandit,  as  he  now 
thought  him,  presumed  to  smile  in  the  face  of  his  wrathful 
common  sense,  or  rather  of  a  deep  instinct  of  aversion,  which 
DOW  possessed  him  entirely. 

"  Insolent,  wretch  !"  said  he,  furiously,  interrupting  the 


THE   WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  247 

other  as  he  was  proceeding  in  a  deprecatory  tone  of  mildness 
with  the  explanation  he  had  promised.  "You  shall  not  add 
the  personal  indignity  of  a  taunt  to  every  other  outrage.  I 
have  unfortunately  partaken  of  your  hospitality,  and  must 
for  the  present  hold  my  hand  from  chastising  you  as  you 
deserve."  (Here  the  man  laughed  derisively,  while  Frank, 
with  a  deepening  flush  upon  his  face,  continued) — "  But, 
sir,  you  shall  not  treat  my  just  anger  with  levity,  for  if  I 
have  not  my  horse- whip  in  reach  to  scourge  you  as  you  de 
serve,  I  at  least  wear  my  boots  conveniently  enough  for  your 
enlightenment  on  the  spot,"  and  he  advanced,  as  he  spoke, 
into  a  sort  of  threatening  proximity  to  the  person  of  the 
^ray-haired  man. 

The  man  stepped  back  with  that  gliding  serpent-like  move 
ment,  of  which  we  have  before  spoken.  The  smile  upon  his 
face  had  not  changed  a  line.  It  was  the  same  smile,  except 
that  suddenly  it  became  a  white  smile,  and  a  fiercer  glitter 
leaped  from  out  his  still  eyes,  about  which  his  black  brows 
contracted  strangely. 

Frank  Carter  did  not  know  fear,  but  there  was  something 
so  appallingly  deadly  and  remarkable  in  the  face  before  him, 
that  he  forgot  his  rage  in  wonder  at  the  psychological  phe 
nomenon,  and  paused  for  an  instant  to  stare,  dropping  his 
hand  to  his  side. 

The  man  muttered,  as  if  to  himself,  "The  wrong-headed 
young  fool  won't  listen !  He's  given  me  trouble  enough 
already.  Ha !  he  will  have  it !"  and  at  the  same  moment 
whipped  a  revolver  from  his  belt. 

Carter  was  as  quick  as  he — sprang  forward — knocked  up 
his  arm,  and  the  weapon  exploded  into  the  air.  He  then 
closed  in,  grasping  the  arm  which  yet  held  the  still  deadly 
weapon  with  one  hand,  while  he  clutched  the  throat  of  his 
murde^us  antagonist  with  the  other. 

The  struggle  was  a  desperate  one ;  for  the  gray-haired 
man  was  stouter  and  heavier,  while  the  other  was  more  agile. 


248        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

Several  moments  of  darkened  and  furious  wrestling,  which 
seemed  as  many  centuries  to  Carter,  had  elapsed,  when  the 
man,  one  of  whose  arms  was  free,  snatched  one  of  Frank's 
own  pistols  from  his  belt,  and  placed  it  against  his  side. 

Before  he  could  fire  the  pistol,  it  was  jerked  away — the 
shrill  scream  of  a  woman's  voice  in  terror  accompanying 
the  act. 

Frank  released  his  desperate  grasp,  and  staggered  back. 

"  Father  !  father !  In  the  good  God's  name,  forbear.  He 
is  our  guest ;"  and  the  young  girl  threw  her  arms  about  him 
in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  his  using  the  remaining  pistol, 
had  he  been  disposed. 

The  man  of  the  dark  eyebrows  did  not  struggle  in  this 
embrace,  and  passively  dropped  his  pistol.  Frank  Carter 
stepped  back  yet  farther,  and  for  the  first  time  turned  ashy 
pale,  while  he  folded  his  arms  across  his  breast. 

The  man's  face  remained  still,  and  seemed  shrunken  in  a 
white  and  terrible  collapse.  The  young  girl  shuddered  visibly 
through  all  her  frame,  and,  reaching  up,  kissed  his  blanched 
lips. 

"Dear  papa,  do  not  look  so.  You  always  do  what  you 
repent  of,  when  your  face  looks  this  way." 

"  Child,  be  still !"  he  muttered,  in  a  singularly  solemn 
undertone — "  The  boy  is  a  heady  fool.  He  will  not  listen  1" 

"  But,  dear  papa,  will  you  remember  that  he  is  my  guest, 
and  pardon  him  for  my  sake.  He  is  sacred  to  us  both,  what 
ever  he  may  have  done,  so  long  as  he  is  here,"  and  she 
kissed  him  again. 

"  What  could  he  have  done,  papa,  to  bring  you  into  this 
dreadful  mood  we  both  fear  so  much  ?"  and  she  turned  back 
her  head  as  she  clung  about  her  father's  neck,  towards  the 
marble-like  figure  of  Frank  Carter,  with  a  look  in  which  re 
proach  and  a  wild,  eager  curiosity  were  strangely  blended — 

"What  did  you  do,  sir?" 


THE   WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  249 

"  Ask  him  !"  said  Carter,  in  a  smothered,  difficult  voice, 
as  if  he  were  choking. 

"Dearest  papa,  tell  me.  I  am  sure  I  can  make  peace 
between  you."  And  she  renewed  her  caresses  with  a  sort  of 
clinging,  frantic  tenderness,  that  produced  its  immediate 
effect — for  that  singularly  shrunken,  white  expression,  ra 
pidly  gave  way  to  the  glow  of  life  returning  to  the  surface. 

She  looked  up  inquiringly  into  his  face.  In  a  moment  it 
had  resumed  its  habitual  expression  of  settled  and  calm 
benignity. 

"Father,  dearest  father,  all  will  be  right  now!"  and  with 
a  warm  kiss,  she  struggled  from  his  now  embracing  arms, 
and  turned,  with  eyes  glancing  joy,  upon  Frank  Carter,  and 
with  a  laugh  as  gay  as  that  which  first  saluted  him,  said — 

"  Come,  my  chivalric  friend,  you  have  no  excuse.  Tell 
me  what  it  is  that  has  frozen  you  so  suddenly  into  such  a 
sombre  model  of  living  statuary  ?" 

Frank  Carter  smiled  faintly  at  first,  but  the  penetrating 
power  of  purity  had  gone  out  like  a  subtile  aroma  from  the 
life  of  this  strange,  bright  creature,  illumining,  with  a  soft 
light,  that  of  both  these  persons. 

Upon  her  father,  we  have  seen  its  effect,  or  rather,  felt  it 
glance  like  sun's  rays  into  and  from  the  ice.  Into  the  soul 
of  the  young  man  it  shot  with  a  keen,  living  flame  that 
vitalized  the  now  smouldering  fires  upon  that  sacred  central 
altar,  and  sent  them  blazing  up  with  the  old  fierceness 
through  vein,  muscle,  nerve,  and  sense. 

His  arms  were  unfolded  as  if  he  had  been  galvanized — the 
chill  dropped  from  his  person,  like  accumulated  snow  from 
the  drooped  cedar  that  had  been  kissed  by  the  warm  sun  of 
spring,  and  as  the  freezing  burden  slided  off,  his  keenest 
sensations  sprang  back  to  the  topmost  reach  of  their  aspir 
ing,  more  lithe  and  vigorous  than  ever. 

He  said,  laughingly — "Ah,  my  guardian  Sprite!  the  whole 
of  it  is,  that  there  was  to  me  some  slight  mystery  growing 


250        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

out  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  your  father's  life — which, 
as  I  did  not  understand  at  first  glance,  I  was  stupid  enough 
to  fly  into  a  passion  about.  I  hope  he  and  yourself  may 
forgive  me  for  my  haste — for  now  I  am  satisfied  of  my  mis 
take,  and  that  every  thing  will  prove  to  be  correct !" 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Indians  of  the  rancho  had  come 
crowding  around  the  scene,  attracted  by  the  ominous  sound 
of  the  pistol-shot. 

The  gray-haired  man  turned  to  them  with  an  imperious 
wave  of  the  hand,  and  spoke  a  few  words  in  their  own  lan 
guage.  They  dispersed  instantly,  almost,  with  a  seeming  of 
affright. 

"  You  had  better  go  in,  my  child ;  the  explanation  between 
this  gentleman  and  myself  can  as  well  be  made  while  you 
superintend  the  preparation  of  our  morning's  meal." 

"  Yes,  papa ;  I  am  so  sure  that  all  is  understood  between 
you  two  now,  that  I  go  with  entire  cheerfulness — don't  be 
too  long !" 

And  she  bounded  away,  glancing  her  bright  face  back  with 
a  beaming  look  at  Frank  Carter  as  she  went. 

The  father  watched  her  until  she  disappeared,  and  then 
turning,  said,  with  a  kindly  voice — 

"Now,  young  sir,  permit  me  to  say,  that  had  you  only 
waited  a  little  for  me  to  proceed,  you  would  have  been 
satisfied." 

"  Possibly  so,  sir  !  But  pardon  my  impatient  hastiness, 
and  proceed  now." 

"You  are  young — your  blood  is  quick  and  warm,  and 
therefore  you  are  to  be  forgiven.  I  am  anxious  to  satisfy 
you  that  you  have  done  me  injustice. 

"  Now  look  at  the  probabilities  of  the  case !  You  think 
or  thought  me  a  robber  and  horse-thief,  because  you  find  the 
horses  stolen  from  your  camp  in  the  horse-pen  of  my  rancho. 
Pretty  strong  circumstantial  evidence  to  begin  with !  Now 
suppose  I  shoulJ  tell  you  that  I  knew  the  horses  to  be  in  the 


THE  WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  251 

pen  when  I  brought  you  here — that  I  knew  them  to  be  stolen, 
and  suspected  they  had  been  stolen  from  you  the  moment  I 
heard  your  story — what  would  you  think?" 

"  Proceed,  sir !  I  would  rather  hear  you  fully,  before  I 
hazard  an  opinion  again." 

"  Discretion  comes  better  late  than  never,  young  sir  !  Now 
hear  how  I  will  unravel  all  this  vexed  tangle  for  you.  I  spoke 
to  you,  last  night,  of  my  Indians,  and  gave  you  some  idea  of 
the  uses  to  which  their  peculiar  modes  and  habits  are  applied 
by  me  to  the  necessities  of  my  remote  and  isolated  position 
here." 

"  Yes — you  spoke  of  having  used  them  as  herdsmen  and 
scouts." 

"  This  is  their  primary  use  to  me.  My  daughter,  as  you 
are  probably  by  this  time  aware,  is  something  bold  and  eccen 
tric,  so  far  as  her  out-goings  and  in-comings  are  concerned. 
Her  life  here  is  companionless,  and  she  seeks  and  will  have, 
in  distant  and  solitary  excursions,  at  nearly  all  hours,  through 
the  forest  and  prairies  in  the  neighbourhood,  a  dreamy  fellow 
ship  with  all  the  external  forms  of  being  presented  by  the 
rude  nature  amid  which  we  live." 

Frank  Carter  stepped  forward  nearer  to  the  gray-haired 
man ;  his  form  relaxed  from  the  stately  rigidity  which  had 
heretofore  characterized  his  bearing,  and  in  an  instant  he 
seemed  like  an  eager  child,  listening  to  some  fairy  tale.  He 
had  entirely  forgotten  his  wrath,  his  suspicions,  and  every 
thing  else  that  was  unpleasant  now,  and  asked,  with  the  un 
conscious  simplicity  of  some  boy  whose  big  eyes  glistened 
with  curiosity — 

"What  can  she  find  out  there  to  love,  sir?" 

The  answer  was  accompanied  by  a  slight  inflexion  of  the 
presiding  smile — 

"  Oh !  she  has  the  faculty  of  finding  things  to  love,  and  it 
is  necessary  for  me  to  see  that  her  wilful  humour  is  protected 
on  these  amatory  excursions ;  I,  therefore,  send  a  portion  of 


252  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

my  Indian  scouts,  each  day,  to  make  the  circuit  of  the  range 
usually  travelled  by  her,  to  see  that  there  are  no  trails  com 
ing  in  which  indicate  the  approach  of  dangerous  intruders 
upon  her  play-ground.  Others  are  employed  to  herd  my 
cattle  and  horses — others  are  sent  off  as  hunters,  and  these 
must  necessarily  have  a  license  with  regard  to  horses,  which 
I  cannot  well  control — for,  since  I  pay  them  a  certain  price 
a  head,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  tell  whether  they  have  stolen 
them  from  a  wandering  party  of  Indians  or  adventurers,  as 
they  always  represent  to  me  that  they  catch  them  with  the 
lasso  from  a  drove  of  mustangs.  I  can  only  have  my  sus 
picions  from  the  appearance  of  the  horses,  as  in  the  case 
of" 

"Never  mind  any  further  explanation,"  said  Frank,  with 
eager  impatience.  "But  tell  me  who  are  her  playfellows, 
and  what  are  the  objects  of  her  love?" 

His  tormenter,  with  a  mischievous  turning  down  of  the 
corners  of  the  mouth,  proceeded — 

"  Oh !  she  has  playmates  in  plenty,  and  seems  to  find  things 
enough  to  love, — for,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  she  holds 
tryst  in  the  forest  every  morning,  mounted  on  her  favourite 
Black  Hawk.  Do  not  blanch  so  quickly,  my  young  friend, 
for  I  think  that  there  has  been  enough  of  that  between  us 
this  morning." 

"  Sir !"  said  Carter,  bracing  himself  up  and  flushing  very 
much,  "  I  was  not  aware  that  you  added  a  connoisseurship 
of  complexions  to  the  many  accomplishments  you  have  al 
ready  exhibited.  However,  it  occurs  to  me,  from  my  recol 
lections  of  the  morning,  that  this  should  be  rather  a  sore 
subject  with  you !" 

The  other  went  on,  without  appearing  to  notice  the  petulant 
bitterness  of  this  speech. 

"Yes;  I  am  informed  by  my  scouts,  who,  among  other 
duties,  are  sometimes  called  to  attend  her  wilful  progress, 
that  she  has  quite  as  many  love  affairs  as  that  old,  diabolical 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA.  253 

witch,  Circe.  For  instance,  she  calls  upon  a  favourite  to  ac 
company  her  to  tryst,  before  the  sun  has  risen.  Away  they 
go ! — perhaps  to  the  deep  and  heavy  forest  of  the  Black 
Walnut  Bottom — the  scout  following  at  a  respectful  distance. 
In  a  deep  glen,  or  may  be  on  a  sunny  knoll,  she  will  pause 
quickly  at  the  foot  of  some  huge  hollow  oak,  and  rapping  on 
its  side  with  her  riding-switch,  her  cautious  lover  will  come 
timidly  forth,  whisking" — 

"  Papa,  breakfast  is  ready  !" 

"  Yes,  dear  !     Come,  sir,  let  us  walk  in  !" 

Frank  Carter  followed,  laughing  an  internal  laughter,  that 
made  the  chambers  of  his  heart  to  ring  again  with  joyous 
echoes ;  yet  he  could  not  help  biting  his  lips,  too,  with  petty 
vexation,  for  he  felt  that  he  had  been  most  gracefully  and 
ingeniously  quizzed  in  the  first  place,  and  in  the  next,  that 
he  had  been  brutally  hasty  that  morning. 

It  was  with  a  half-abashed  look  that  he  seated  himself  at 
the  rude  table. 

How  was  the  young  man  surprised  at  that  meal ! 

Before  his  host  and  himself  were  placed  two  large  pewter 
dishes,  on  one  of  which  steamed  venison,  and  on  the  other 
a  delicate  hump-steak  of  buffalo ;  between  these  was  a  dish 
of  hommony,  as  it  is  prepared  by  the  Indians,  out  of  the  un 
broken  grain  of  Indian  corn,  and  a  plate  of  nicely-browned 
cakes,  composed  of  the  same  grain  coarsely  pounded. 

But  what  caused  his  "special  wonder"  was  the  character 
of  the  food  placed  before  the  young  girl,  who  sat  opposite  to 
them. 

On  one  side  of  her  was  a  square,  shallow  basket,  fancifully 
woven  of  coloured  grasses.  This  was  heaped  with  a  variety 
of  nuts,  ready  cracked — as  the  walnut,  chestnut,  hickory-nut, 
beach-nut,  pecan,  etc.,  with  a  flavorous  representative  of  the 
family  of  acorns  in  a  chincupin  peculiar  to  that  region. 

On  the  other  side  were  two  smaller  baskets  of  the  same 

shape  and  material,  one  heaped  with  pungent  wild  herbs, 
W 


254        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

small,  ruddy  grapes,  and  plums,  fresh  with  the  dew  upon 
them,  and  the  other  filled  with  the  white,  flower-like  grains 
of  parched  or  "  popped"  corn. 

Our  enthusiast  stared,  and  was  silent  with  the  mute  com- 
munings  of  his  surprise  and  wonder.  He  now  remembered 
what  he  had  not  noticed  before,  because  he  was  too  tired  and 
hungry  then — that  she  had  not  eaten  with  him  the  night 
before. 

He  took  and  tasted  mechanically  of  the  food  her  father 
placed  upon  his  plate,  but  he  watched  her  with  breathless 
interest. 

He  answered,  mechanically,  the  bantering  questions  of  his 
host,  while  he  watched  her.  Was  that  intended  merely  as  a 
dessert  to  their  breakfast  ?  But  the  father  never  offered  to 
help  her  to  the  dishes  before  him,  nor  did  she  seem  to  suppose 
it  at  all  necessary  to  invite  him  or  her  guest  to  partake  of 
her  simple  food. 

He  watched  her  !  He  saw  her  take  the  kernels  from  those 
delicate  nuts  nearly  whole,  with  the  skill  which  showed  a  life- 
habit,  and  then  she  would  turn  to  the  young  herbs  and  grapes 
— new  births  of  the  "bedabbled  morn" — to  freshen  her  glow 
ing  lips  with  their  cool,  dewy  aromas. 

Ah !  this  seemed  so  chaste  to  him. 

The  wonder  in  his  eyes  grew  warmer,  and  he  saw,  as  she 
placidly  ate,  what  he  had  not  observed  before,  but  only  felt, 
which  was  the  crystalline  clearness  of  her  complexion.  It 
seemed  as  if  all  the  body  was  a  window  to  the  heart — as  if 
you  looked  down  through  the  perfect  symmetries  of  some 
large  precious  gem,  wrought  out  by  the  spell  of  some  weird 
sculptor,  that  glowed  of  its  own  beauty  in  welcome  to  any 
curious  eye  that  sought  to  read  that  throbbing  mystery  in  its 
centre. 

"Beautiful!  beautiful!"  thought  the  young  man,  while  he 
stammered  incoherently,  in  answer  to  the  father :  "  Here,  at 
last,  I  have  found  life  to  burn  with  a  pure  flame  !  Here  we 


THE  WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  255 

have  no  murky  smoke  arising  from  fatty  fuel,  to  darken  and 
begrim  the  chambers  of  its  royal  palace  !  Beautiful !  beauti 
ful  reality  !" 

The  food  of  which  he  was  partaking  became  utterly  dis 
tasteful  now,  and  he  asked  her,  with  a  pleading  look,  almost 
of  reverence,  while  he  drew  his  chair  nearer  to  her, — "  May 
I  not  share  with  you  your  simple  breakfast  ?  You  seem  to 
have  enough  for  both."  The  young  girl  opened  her  eyes  in 
astonishment,  and  pushing  her  baskets  towards  him  quietly, 
said — 

"  Why,  sir,  you  surprise  me  !  How  does  it  happen,  that  a 
man  from  civilization  can  have  any  taste  for  acorns,  fruits, 
nuts,  and  herbs  ?  Surely,  you  do  not  mean  to  cajole  me  ?" 

"  No  ;  not  cajole,  but  honour  you.  You  have  adopted  the 
regimen  of  daily  life  out  of  that  pure  and  holy  instinct  which 
comes  straight  to  us  from  the  fresh  Eden  of  innocent  and 
primitive  humanity.  There  God  and  his  good  angels  walked 
with  the  young  children  of  an  infant  earth,  and  partook  with 
them  of  the  fruits  that  were  ruddied  by  sunbeams  and  in 
spired  by  the  stars  and  the  calm  moon  with  keener  and  milder 
essences,  that  constituted  the  fit  nutriment  of  immortal 
natures !" 

The  young  girl  looked  at  the  speaker  as  if  she  thought 
that  he  came  from  a  new  sphere,  and  said,  with  an  expression 
of  utter  amazement  on  her  face — 

"  What !  you  don't  think  it  extraordinary  that  I  should 
love  such  natural  things  ?  Who  but  men,  that  struggle  with 
the  ruder  exigencies  of  life,  could  think  of  accepting  as  food 
any  thing  else  than  what  drops  down  from  towards  heaven, 
as  nuts  and  fruits  do  from  the  trees,  like  manna  in  a  cloud 
less  rain,  which  only  warns  us  in  the  pattering  voice  of  its 
'all,  that  it  has  come  to  be  eaten!  And  then  vegetables, 
herbs,  flowers,  and  all  humble  plants  that  are  not  noxious — 
they  seem  to  me  to  look  up  to  us  with  a  wise  pleading,  suppli 
cating  through  their  eloquent  colours  and  odours  that  they 


V 

256  THE  WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

may  rather  be  absorbed  by  -me  through  either  sense,  and  thus 
passed  up  into  a  life  more  high,  than,  being  browsed  by  some 
coarse  brute,  to  go  back  to  nearly  utter  nothingness.  Every 
herb  we  rescue  from  such  a  downward  fate,  every  flower  whose 
odours  we  inhale,  becomes  as  much  an  angel  as  we  do  when 
we  too  are  absorbed  or  inhaled  by  a  life  as  much  higher  than 
ours  as  ours  than  theirs" — 

"  Why,  I  am  afraid  that  you,  too,  are  an  enthusiast !"  said 
Frank,  with  a  look  in  which  his  life  seemed  shot  through  his 
eyes ;  "  but  your  wise  and  inspired  rhapsody  will  not  satisfy 
the  common  mind.  Where  is  the  limit  you  would  place  and 
define  clearly,  between  the  two  extremes  of  vegetable  and 
meat  diet  ?" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FANNY  AND   THE   RIDE. 

THE  final  adjustment  of  the  nice  question  we  left  at  issue 
between  these  two  young  people  was  deferred  by  an  inter 
ruption  of  a  somewhat  unique  character. 

Frank  had  for  some  moments  heard,  without  noticing  it  in 
particular,  amid  the  novel  excitement  by  which  he  was  filled, 
that  there  was  a  distant  cry  of  hounds  in  pursuit,  which  every 
moment  seemed  to  bring  nearer. 

At  once  the  cry  burst  upon  the  startled  group  as  if  inside 
the  picket-court,  and  coming  directly  towards  them  ;  but  now 
it  was  commingled  with  the  most  terrific  yells  of  curs  and 
Indian  papooses,  the  whoopings  of  the  men,  and  the  shrill 
screeches  of  the  squaws  outside. 

The  party  at  the  breakfast-table  had  scarcely  time  to  raise 
their  heads  and  look  with  startled  inquiry  into  each  other's 
eyes,  when  there  was  a  quick  clattering  sound  along  tne  pas 
sage  from  the  great  door,  and  at  once  a  fine  doe  burst  into 


THE  WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  257 

the  room,  and  with  a  swift  bound  cleared  the  table — which 
was  in  the  middle — brushing  the  hair  of  Carter  with  its  hoofs, 
as  it  passed  over. 

The  creature  had  a  wreath  of  flowers,  withered,  amid  ever 
greens,  about  its  neck,  and  paused  for  a  moment,  and  shivered 
so  all  over  with  affright,  that  you  could  scarcely  see  how  deep 
its  pantings  were.  The  doe  listened  for  an  instant,  with  neck 
stretched  high  and  wildly-glistening  eyes,  then  lowering  its 
fine  head,  ran  to  its  mistress  and  hid  it  in  her  embrace. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  gray-haired  man  sprang  to  his  feet, 
and,  assisted  by  Carter,  drove  out  the  fierce,  clamorous  pack 
that  were  rushing  after  in  pursuit. 

The  hubbub  outside  was  indescribable ;  for,  between  quell 
ing  the  dogs  and  quieting  the  excited  Indians  of  the  rancho 
— who  were  crowding  with  eager  curiosity  in  the  passage, 
and  gathered  outside  of  the  great  door — the  two  men  had 
enough  to  occupy  them  for  several  minutes. 

"When  they  turned  to  go  back  to  the  breakfast-room,  Frank 
Carter,  who  was  in  advance,  saw  distinctly  the  faces  of  two 
men  withdrawn  quickly  from  the  partly-opened  door  at  the 
end  of  the  passage,  of  which  we  have  spoken  as  being  oppo 
site  to  that  which  led  into  the  breakfast-room.  The  door  was 
hastily  closed,  and  he  heard  the  sound  of  a  bolt.  Frank  was 
terribly  shocked  at  this  sight.  All  those  suspicions  which 
led  to  the  ugly  scene  before  breakfast,  came  back  upon  him 
with  redoubled  force. 

It  could  be  no  mistake !  There  were  two  faces — one  of 
them  was  hairy,  and  seemed  to  intimate  a  cross  between  the 
mastiff  and  wire-haired  Scotch  terrier ;  the  other  one,  which 
was  thin  and  fox-like,  and  white,  he  did  not  see  so  distinctly. 
There  had  been  but  a  moment  for  him  to  see,  yet  that  moment 
was  enough.  Frank  felt  that  he  should  know  either  face,  if 
he  saw  it  again  anywhere — for  they  were  of  distinct  types 
of  character,  and  could  by  no  possibility  be  mistaken.  Then 

he  recollected  instantly  how,  as  they  approached  the  house 
W2  17 


258        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

the  night  before,  that  end  of  it  into  which  he  had  been  intro 
duced  was  lighted,  and  how,  at  the  noise  of  their  coming, 
the  lights  passed  hastily  by  the  dark  port-holes  of  the  other 
wing,  before  his  host  came  to  the  door.  He  muttered  to 
himself — 

"  The  men  were  passing  into  concealment,  then !  They 
have  betrayed  themselves,  by  looking  out  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  the  unusual  hubbub.  As  I  suspected — a  robber's 
stronghold  !  Ah  !  can  it  be  she  knows  of  this  ?"  he  groaned, 
in  the  silent  agony  of  his  heart's  inmost  depths. 

All  this  passed  with  the  rapidity  of  light  through  the  brain 
of  Frank  Carter,  for  there  were  a  few  steps  intervening  be 
fore  he  reached  the  door  of  the  breakfast-room ;  but  with  all 
the  startle  and  commotion  within  himself,  there  was  not  the 
slightest  variation  in  the  manner  of  his  gait  or  tread,  which 
could  indicate  that  he  had  perceived  any  thing  unusual ;  for 
he  felt  sure  that  sharp  eyes  were  upon  him  from  behind,  the 
astuteness  of  which  he  now  swore  to  baffle,  will  with  will. 

He  entered,  with  brows  contracted  like  one  suffering  the 
sharp  wrench  of  a  mortal  pain.  He  was  unconscious  of  this, 
and  that  all  his  face  was  death-like,  as  that  of  a  swooning 
man,  and  that  curses — bitter  curses  of  her  were  hissing 
through  his  teeth.  He  paused  though,  as  he  entered  the 
door,  irresistibly  arrested  by  the  scene. 

The  young  girl  had  not  heard  him.  She  had  turned  her 
seat  a  little  aside  from  the  table,  and,  in  entire  forgetfulness 
of  every  thing  else,  was  stooping  over  her  pet  doe. 

The  bright,  gentle  creature  had  forgotten  its  fright  already, 
and,  at  the  moment  Frank  entered,  was  reaching  up  to  caress 
the  bowed  cheek  of  its  mistress  with  its  small  tongue,  and 
breathe  on  her  the  sweetly-scented  breath  of  its  gratitude 
for  her  protection,  and  for  the  fresh  herbs  she  held  to  it  from 
her  basket.  She  was  speaking  quaint  words  of  childlike,  soft 
endearment  to  the  creature,  as  if  to  allay  its  fright  and  re 
assure  it  of  its  safety,  now  that  it  was  with  her. 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  259 

There  was  too  much  of  touching  and  unconscious  innocence 
in  this  scene,  not  to  dissipate  even  the  hideous  gloom  of  the 
latest  shadow  suspicion  had  thrown  across  the  brain  of  Frank. 
He  moved  towards  her  slightly,  to  the  impulse  of  a  swift  joy 
that  sprang  forward  out  of  the  darkness  of  his  heart  to  lead 
him. 

Now  that  the  noises  outside  were  somewhat  stilled,  the 
creature's  fine  senses  detected  the  movement,  and  pricking 
forward  sharply  its  long  and  beautifully  rounded  ears,  re 
garded  him  with  lifted  head  and  glistening  stare,  while  it 
stamped  petulantly  with  its  fine  hoofs  upon  the  earthen  floor. 
The  young  girl,  who  had  a  presentiment  of  the  comer,  said, 
as  she  turned  her  head  slowly,  while  she  still  continued  to 
caress  the  creature — 

"  You  see,  sir,  my  pet  is  impatient  because  our  love-scene 
has  been  interrupted !" 

"  Sorry  to  interrupt  so  pleasant  a  scene  !"  said  he,  in  a 
very  low  voice,  that  shook,  in  spite  of  him,  with  a  slight 
tremor. 

"  Oh,  never  mind !  Fanny  and  I  have  plenty  of  time  to 
make  love!  Sir,  you  look  unwell!  have  you  been  hurt?" 
and  she  rose  in  haste,  with  a  look  that  glowed  in  the  eager 
ness  of  alert  sympathy,  while  her  pet  bounded  forward,  lower 
ing  its  delicate  head  with  a  ludicrously  threatening  shake,  as 
if  to  frighten  back  the  intruder. 

Frank,  whose  face  had  not  quite  recovered  from  its  pallor, 
now  laughed  outright.  He  merely  said,  in  answer  to  her 
question,  "  Oh,  nothing — nothing  !"  and  then  advanced  with 
playful  gesture ;  but  the  doe  commenced  a  retrograde  move 
ment,  still  shaking  its  lowered  head  at  him,  until  it  had  backed 
against  the  side  of  the  room. 

"  Take  care,  sir !  she  will  strike  you !"  said  the  young  girl, 
nervously. 

"Never  mind  ;  I  know  them  !" 

As  he  spoke,  the  creature  struck  quickly  at  him  with  its 


260  THE  WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

snarp  forefoot  or  hoof,  as  is  their  formidable  manner  of  de 
fence.  Frank  avoided  the  blow,  and  before  it  could  be  re 
peated  merely  touched  it  slightly  on  the  point  of  the  nose, 
and  stroked  it  softly  up  the  face  and  along  the  neck. 

The  creature  struck  out  once  more,  but  not  so  vehemently 
this  time ;  and  now  it  stood  for  some  moments  sullenly,  with 
head  to  the  ground  and  hair  set  forward,  and  submitted  to  be 
stroked  by  him.  Then  it  raised  its  head  gradually,  smoothed 
its  hair,  and  commenced  licking  his  hand. 

"You  see,  I  have  conquered  your  jealous  pet?"  said  he, 
turning  to  the  young  girl,  who  was  looking  on  in  smiling 
wonder. 

"  Yes ;  you  must  carry  a  spell,  for  such  creatures,  in  your 
touch !  Fanny  has  always  been  incorrigibly  combative  to 
wards  every  one  but  myself,  before.  How  did  you  manage  ?" 

"  Oh,  easily  and  naturally  enough  !  Let  the  magnetism 
of  the  human  touch  be  accompanied  by  a  gentleness  that 
soothes  the  blindness  of  brute  impulse  long  enough  for  that 
powerful  illumination  to  wake  their  dumb  senses,  and  then 
they  recognise  their  God-appointed  liege,  and  submit  in  hum 
ble  joy  to  gambol  at  his  feet.  It  is  because  we  have  been 
their  bloody  and  brutal  tyrants,  that  these  simple  creatures 
fear  us.  The  wildest  and  most  savage  brute  can  be  tamed  in 
a  few  hours,  by  a  gentle  and  wisely  graduated  application  of 
this  supreme  law  of  love,  which  is  represented  by  the  mag 
netic  power — as  it  is  called — indwelling  in  the  human,  who  is 
the  highest  earthly  type  of  that  God  whose  essence  is  love. 
This  is  the  secret  of  all  those  mysterious  spells  which  men 
have  pretended  to  cast  upon  wild  animals.  They  must  be 
controlled  by  one  of  the  two  extremes — fear  or  love.  Fear 
is  most  usually  resorted  to,  and  works  morbid  wonders,  which 
sometimes  react  fearfully  upon  those  who  trifle  with  them. 
But  the  conquest  of  love  is  like  that  of  the  sun  upon  the 
mute  and  sheathed  seed :  it  springs  forth  in  joy,  and  lives  to 
do  worship  in  its  green  luxuriance  to  its  conqueror,  and 


THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA.        261 

render  up  the  incense  of  its  flowering-time  to  rejoice  his 
nostrils !" 

"  This  is  the  spell  you  have  unconsciously  exerted  upon 
this  creature,  and,  as  I  should  judge,  upon  many  others  as 
well." 

"  Quite  a  profound  exposition,  that !"  said  the  laughing 
voice  of  the  gray-haired  man,  who  had  been  for  some  mo 
ments  standing  in  the  doorway,  attentively  observing  the 
manner  and  language  of  Frank.  He  now  came  forward, 
watching  the  expression  of  his  face  with  a  sharp  scrutiny, 
while  he  smiled  a  very  pleasant  smile. 

He  had  not  witnessed  the  first  part  of  the  scene  we  have 
described,  for  he  had  lingered  behind  a  little  while,  probably 
for  the  purpose  of  passing  into  the  next  apartment. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  if  you  can  tame  men  and  women 
as  effectually,  by  this  apostolic  ceremony  of  '  the  laying  on 
of  hands,'  my  young  friend  ?  For  I  have  a  great  many  rude 
people  about  me,  of  both  sexes,  who  require  to  be  tamed  by 
some  stronger  spell  than  any  I  know  of." 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Frank,  looking  up  from  caressing  the  deer, 
and  meeting  that  shrewd  questioning  glance  with  one  of  the 
most  entire  and  smiling  unconsciousness.  "I  know  no  spells 
but  gold  and  fear,  that  will  tame  the  human  brute !" 

"  Sit  down,  and  let  us  finish  breakfast."  They  drew  once 
more  about  the  table.  "  You  do  not  compliment  the  humble 
human,  particularly,  as  contrasted  with  your  four-footed 
friends?" 

"  There  is  no  room  for  compliment  or  comparison  in  the 
case.  Man  is  the  most  hideously  perverted  from  his  natural 
instincts,  and  the  human  brute  is  the  most  remorseless  of  all. 
Gold  falls  faster,  flashing  down  an  abyss,  than  the  loose  clod 
of  common  earth,  and  requires  a  stronger  hand  to  draw  it  up 
again.  We  are  at  present  gods  to  the  brute ;  but  our  God 
is  out  of  sight,  and  acts  through  the  representatives  of  power 
he  has  appointed  among  us !" 


262  THE   WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

"  Ah,  my  young  friend,"  said  the  gray-haired  man,  bending 
forward  with  a  placid  look  and  a  smile  of  benevolent  reproof, 
"  I  fear  you  either  sneer  captiously,  or  are  strangely  infidel 
for  one  so  young !  Does  not  that  love  which  you  spoke  of 
as  constituting  the  representative  presence  of  God  in  hu 
manity,  also  imply  justice  and  wisdom  ?  Are  these,  then, 
more  likely  to  fail  in  enlightening  the  blindness  of  sense  in 
the  highest  and  purest  forms  of  its  organization,  than  in 
those  which  are  lower  and  more  gross  ?  Confess,  then,  that 
you  rather  sneered  than  thought  when  you  spoke  ?" 

Frank  flushed  a  little,  and  stared  in  the  confusion  of  blank 
surprise  into  the  bland  face  of  this  extraordinary  man.  Was 
the  wretch  mocking,  with  the  insolent  mockery  of  a  devilish 
intellection,  or  had  all  those  circumstances,  which  so  strongly 
aroused  his  suspicions,  been  illusory  ?  Could  it  be  he  was 
the  mild  and  gentle  philosopher  he  seemed !  "  Surely,  I 
must  be  mistaken,  for  he  is  her  father !"  he  muttered  to  him 
self,  and  said  aloud,  with  a  faint  effort  at  a  smile — 

"  Perhaps  you  are  right,  sir,  and  I  spoke  with  the  foolish 
affectation  of  an  incredulity  I  did  not  feel.  But  you  must 
admit  that  the  two  extremes  easily  occur  in  contrast.  Lucifer 
fell  from  heaven — the  brute,  at  the  worst,  can  only  tumble 
down  a  precipice." 

"Yes,  but  fortunate  Lucifer  had  wings  to  break  his  fall," 
laughed  the  gray-haired  man  pleasantly,  as  he  rose  from  the 
table.  "  You  two  must  amuse  yourselves  as  you  can,  until 
dinner.  I  will  see  to  despatching  a  party  of  my  scouts  to 
the  relief  of  your  comrades,  sir." 

"Ah,  I  shall  go  with  them,"  said  Frank,  rising  quickly. 

"  You  can,  of  course,  do  as  you  please,  but  I  assure  you 
there  is  not  the  slightest  necessity  for  your  going.  My 
Indians  will  find  them  more  readily  without  your  aid  or  pre 
sence,  than  with  it — you  will  only  embarrass  their  move 
ments.  If  you  persist  in  going,  let  me  warn  you  that  to 
keep  up  with  them  will  be  the  most  difficult,  vexatious,  and 


THE   WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  263 

fatiguing  feat  of  horsemanship  that  you  have  ever  undertaken. 
If  I  might  assume  the  privilege  of  a  host,  I  would  advise  that 
you  simply  write  a  few  lines  to  one  of  your  friends,  stating 
where  you  are,  and  requesting  them  to  join  you.  The  fact 
that  my  Indians  will  bring  their  horses  back  to  them,  will  be 
a  sufficient  guaranty  of  honest  intention  on  their  part.  I 
engage  they  will  accept  such  guidance  without  hesitation, 
and  will  probably  reach  here  by  to-morrow  night.  In  the 
mean  time,  my  daughter  will  cheerfully  undertake  to  amuse 
you  by  showing  you  the  country  around,  and  introducing  you 
to  those  mysterious  lovers  of  hers.  If  you  tire  of  this,  we 
will  get  up  a  grand  hunt  to-morrow,  and  give  you  a  practical 
illustration  of  the  uses  of  my  Indians." 

During  this  frank  and  hospitable  speech,  Carter  was  walk 
ing  hurriedly  up  and  down  the  room.  His  brain  was  in  a 
confused  whirl  of  uncertainty.  "  How  much  was  this  strange 
man  to  be  trusted  ?  How  much  real  cause  for  the  vague,  but 
almost  shuddering  aversion  and  distrust  he  felt  for  him,  was 
there  in  the  circumstances  thus  far  ?  Was  he  doing  justice 
to  his  comrades  in  permitting  them  to  come  here — even  in 
viting  them  into  the  midst  of  such  suspicious  surroundings  ? 
But  then  he  remembered  their  revolvers,  their  devotion  to 
him,  and  their  personal  prowess.  With  them  ever  at  his 
side,  if  this  place  proved  to  be  what  he  had  some  reason  to 
suspect,  he  could  and  would  at  once  destroy  the  den.  But 
suppose  this  man  does  not  intend  they  shall  ever  reach  here ! 
A  sure  ambush  might  be  an  easy  thing  !  But  then,  if  I  went, 
I  should  most  assuredly  come  back.  I  feel  that  the  game  of 
my  life  must  be  played  here.  The  time  has  come  at  last !  I 
will  not  give  up  this  young  girl  until  I  understand  more  of 
all  this,  and  of  her,  though  I  die  for  it.  This  man,  if  he  be 
a  villain,  is  an  astonishing  one,  and  I  like  to  study  such  cha 
racters  ;  it  excites  and  charms  me  to  play  around  the  viper's 
coil,  and  then  baffle  its  spring.  As  yet  this  man  confounds 
me.  He  invites  all  my  friends  to  his  rancho,  in  the  face  of 


264;  THE   WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

u,  most  hostile  avowal  of  my  suspicions.  This  does  not  look 
like  guilt  or  fear.  One  of  two  things  is  sure — he  is  acting 
with  the  most  direct  and  straightforward  honesty,  or  with 
the  most  diabolical  purpose.  Pshaw !  I  am  here  alone — if 
he  had  any  foul  designs,  what  interest  could  he  have  in 
slaughtering  my  friends  ?  They  could  never  find  him  or  me, 
of  course.  He  has  all  our  horses — what  more  can  he  want  ? 
I  have  been  made  childish  by  this  singular  instinct  of  aversion 
and  distrust  which  has  possessed  me  since  I  first  met  this 
man's  eye  !  The  course  he  advises  is  entirely  sensible ;  and 
then  that  reproof  he  gave  me  at  table  just  now ! — oh,  I  have 
done  the  man  injustice !  I  don't  care  for  the  mystery  of  the 
two  faces  that  shocked  me  so.  He  is  her  father  ! — neverthe 
less  I  will  warn  Clenny  to  be  on  his  guard  /"  He  looked  up. 

While  this  vehement  struggle — which  we  have  endeavoured 
to  furnish  some  idea  of  in  expression — had  been  passing 
swiftly  through  his  mind,  the  gray-haired  man  had  ceased  to 
speak,  and  stood  regarding  his  restless  and  abstracted  move 
ments  for  a  moment  with  a  curious  smile. 

Frank  saw  it,  and  said  promptly — 

"  You  are  right,  sir.  I  shall  do  as  you  advise.  I  perceive 
that  you  are  amused  at  the  degree  of  uncertainty  as  to  the 
proper  course  for  me  to  pursue,  apparent  in  my  manner ;  but 
you  must  remember,  sir,  that  the  tie  of  companionship  in 
danger  is  a  very  sacred  one ;  and  I  could  not  but  feel  that 
my  less  fortunate  comrades  would  have  good  reason  to  con 
sider  me  selfish  in  remaining  here,  surrounded  by  comforts, 
while  I  merely  send  to  them  a  troop  of  half-naked  Indian 
scouts,  with  orders  to  escort  them  to  me  !  I  need  not  remind 
you  that  such  a  course  would  hardly  be  in  the  spirit  of  good- 
fellowship  demanded  by  such  relations — this  was  the  cause 
of  my  doubts.  But  I  am  now  convinced  that  my  going  will 
probably  do  them  more  harm  than  good,  as  you  suggested. 
I  will  have  the  note  ready  by  the  time  your  scouts  are 
mounted  You  have  writing  materials?" 


THE   WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  265 

"  My  daughter  will  furnish  you.  I  understand  and  respect 
your  feeling,  which  was  a  very  natural  and  proper  one.  My 
fellows  will  be  ready  for  you  in  a  little  while." 

He  passed  out,  while  the  young  girl  sprang  up,  followed 
by  Fanny,  and  passed  through  the  small  door  we  have  before 
mentioned  as  near  the  fireplace. 

She  was  gone  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  returned  with  a 
small  rose-wood  escretoire,  which  she  placed  before  Frank. 
The  presence  of  this  elegant  article  in  so  rude  a  place,  tended 
not  a  little  to  heighten  the  curiosity  with  which  he  had  con 
tinued  occasionally,  during  the  morning,  to  regard  that 
narrow  door  through  which  he  had  first  seen  her  bright  form 
disappear. 

Every  thing  about  this  little  article  was  feminine  and  deli 
cate — there  was  to  his  sense  even  an  indescribable  fragrance 
which  it  seemed  to  have  brought  along  with  it,  and  he  forgot 
to  finish  his  note  while  his  erratic  fancy  wandered  through 
that  door  to  breathe  the  air  made  fragrant  by  her  dreams,  or 
conjure  many  a  graceful  object,  the  creation  of  her  own  fresh 
taste  and  daring  humours,  or  hallowed  by  the  caressing  of 
her  touch. 

She  noticed  his  abstraction,  and  with  a  joyous  laugh,  ex 
claimed — 

"  What  ho  ! — out  of  the  land  of  shadows,  there  ! — my 
father  will  want  your  note  in  a  few  minutes." 

"  Yes,  yes — I  will  be  ready  in  a  minute ;"  and  he  wrote 
on  eagerly,  bending  low  over  the  paper  to  conceal  the  flush 
upon  his  face. 

They  soon  after  went  out  to  the  great  gate  of  the  rancho, 
to  see  the  Indian  scouts  set  off.  They  seemed  to  be  a  sort 
of  transition  race,  occupying  a  middle  ground  between  the 
characteristics  of  the  two  great  races  north  and  south  of  the 
Missouri. 

In  a  word,  there  was  an  insolent  look  of  savage  and  cun 
ning  ferocity  about  them,  the  formidable  character  of  whicn 


266        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

was  not  a  little  increased  by  the  superior  finish  of  their 
weapons  and  the  assured  ease  and  familiarity  with  which 
they  handled  them. 

They  numbered  eight  warriors.  When  Frank  handed  his 
note  to  the  leader  of  the  party,  the  fellow,  whose  complexion 
was  much  fairer  than  that  of  his  followers,  smiled  cunningly, 
and  by  a  significant  gesture  betrayed  the  "  itching  palm." 

Frank  threw  him  a  dollar,  and  with  a  broad,  obsequious 
grin  and  cringing  bow  he  darted  away,  followed  by  his  war 
riors. 

"  That  fellow  has  all  the  vices  of  a  mongrel,  if  he  be  not 
one,"  said  Frank,  as  they  turned  back  to  enter  the  rancho. 

"  Yes  !"  said  the  young  girl,  somewhat  hastily.  "  He  is  a 
half-breed,  and  father  thinks  him  faithful!" 

"Of  what  tribe  are  these  ruffians  ?" 

"I  believe  they  are  an  off-shoot  of  the  Kansas.  My 
father  never  explained  to  me  particularly ;  and  as  I  am  not 
very  curious  about  such  matters,  I  cannot  tell  you  more  than 
this.  But  shall  we  not  ride  this  morning  ?  I  hear  the  im 
patient  stamp  of  Black  Hawk,  and  no  doubt  Celeste  is  by 
this  time  thoroughly  refreshed.  Papa  has  left  us  with  the 
day  before  us,  to  make  it  out  between  ourselves  as  best  we 
may!" 

"Let  us  ride,  certainly !"  said  Frank,  with  eagerness. 

She  called  an  Indian  and  gave  the  necessary  orders.  In 
a  short  time  the  horses  were  equipped,  when  they  mounted, 
and  were  off  in  a  brisk,  emulous  gallop,  the  fine  animals  they 
rode  neighing  their  joy  upon  the  morning,  and  looking  out 
from  the  skirting  forest  towards  the  wide  prairie,  with  ears 
pricked  forward  and  eagerly,  as  if  they  meant  to  take  wing 
and  fly  across  its  green  and  flowering  expanse. 

Their  riders,  too,  seemed  quite  elate  enough  to  enjoy  such 
a  proceeding  wonderfully — perhaps  with  the  proviso  that 
they  and  their  horses  should  keep  together  in  the  flight. 

The  riders  were  long  silent.     Frank  was  too  full  to  speak. 


THE   WILD    GIRL    OP   THE   NEBRASKA.  267 

He  could  not  see  the  forest,  the  prairie  with  its  multitudinous 
flowers — the  white  fantastic  islands  sailing  through  the  blue 
and  shoreless  sea — the  blessed  sun  that  smiled  a  benediction 
over  all ! 

There  was  but  for  him  one  light,  and  she  was  its  source ! 
The  glory  of  the  outward  world  was  felt — not  seen — for  he 
was  looking  upon  her  as  she  rode  by  his  side  with  downcast, 
averted  eyes,  and  face  that  glowed  consciously  beneath  his 
gaze. 

What  a  marvellous  being  she  seemed  to  him  !  It  was  as 
if  the  fluent  summer  had  been  wooed  to  stay  and  curl  its 
yellow  warmth  all  peacefully  in  clinging  play  about  the  young 
roses  of  the  fresh-cheeked  April — for  her  prodigal  hair  shook 
such  perfume  off  to  the  rude  breeze  that  he  felt  the  flowering 
time  of  all  the  year  had  now  come  together  in  his  life. 

She  rode  with  loose  reins,  as  if  her  beautiful  horse  moved 
of  her  permission.  She  seemed  as  reposeful  and  abstracted 
as  though  she  saw  through  his  eyes  and  guided  his  move 
ments  by  an  unconscious  exercise  of  will. 

Frank  thought,  if  she  had  only  willed  that  her  black  steed 
should 

"  Paw  up  the  light, 
And  do  strange  deeds  upon  the  clouds !" 

— that  forthwith  he  would  have  climbed  the  beams — and,  poor 
fellow ! — blessed  himself  that  no  such  freak  happened  to  pos 
sess  her  for  the  time — since,  left  alone,  he  would  have  felt 
unutterably  desolate. 

He  broke  the  silence  at  last. 

"  But — I  thought  you  were  to  introduce  me  to  your  wil 
derness  friends  ?  What  are  they  ? — '  of  what  substance  are 
they  made  ?'  I  am  beginning  to  be  quite  jealous  !" 

At  this  moment  both  their  horses  shyed,  quite  violently, 
and  on  looking  round,  they  saw  Fanny — with  all  the  withered 
flowers  torn  from  out  the  wreath  upon  her  neck — coming  in 
long  leaps  close  after  them — with  tail  drooped,  as  if  she  had 


268  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA. 

been  shot,  and  shaking  her  lowered  head  with  every  bound, 
as  if  in  rage  at  her  desertion  ! 

They  reined  up,  and  she  came  alongside  her  mistress. 
The  first  petulant  movement  was  to  strike  viciously  at  Black 
Hawk,  as  if  he  were  responsible  for  carrying  off  her  mistress. 

The  horse  seemed  to  be  familiar  with  such  demonstrations, 
and  merely  jerked  up  his  leg  to  avoid  the  blow,  and  then 
•with  ears  playfully  laid  back,  turned  to  bite  at  his  assailant. 
Fanny  dodged  him  as  if  it  were  an  old  play  between  them — 
and  then  she  rose — as  if  on  the  leap,  to  caress  with  her 
tongue  the  hand  of  her  mistress. 

"  You  see  my  pretty  Fanny  has  come  to  guide  us — come  ! 
The  jealous  witch  has  found  out  all  my  secrets — and  as  she 
made  peace  with  you,  maybe  she  will  condescend  to  be  our 
guide  !" 

Fanny  now  went  frisking  and  anticking  before  them — 
pausing  now  and  then  to  look  behind,  as  if  to  invite  them  to 
follow. 

"  Come !"  said  the  young  girl,  starting  into  a  swift  gallop. 
— "  We  will  follow  Fanny,  and  see  my  people  of  the  wilder 
ness." 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   RIDE. 

AWAY  !  away  over  the  bending  grass  of  the  prairie  these 
two  young  riders  sped,  with  a  swiftness  that  caused  their 
nerves  to  tingle,  and  made  the  great  beds  of  sunflowers,  over 
•which  they  trampled,  to  run  together  as  though  a  swift  stream 
of  molten  gold  went  by  on  either  hand — while  Fanny,  whom 
their  speed  had  overtaken,  seemed,  as  she  gambolled  by  the 
side  of  her  mistress,  a  strange  dolphin  sporting  on  a  wave  as 
sirange ! 


THE  WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  269 

Even  the  gentle  breeze  they  met  was  roused  by  their  wild 
speed,  and  went  roaring  in  a  gale  of  rollicking  laughter  past 
their  ears — while,  as  for  their  exulting  horses ! — 

"Through  mane  and  tail  the  high  wind  sighs, 
Fanning  the  hairs,  which  wave  like  feathered  wings !" 

Away  !  away  !  with  their  hearts  on  fire,  their  blood  bounds 
faster  than  fleet-footed  steeds  can  go.  They  do  not  look 
upon  each  other  now.  They  touch  occasionally,  and  one 
sphere  encircles  them.  They  feel  that  if  they  pause,  their 
hearts  will  pale  to  ashes  in  that  fierce,  consuming  flame — 
that  they  must  on !  and  shake  off  the  keen  ardour  that  has 
gathered  there,  through  motion,  outwardly  upon  the  cool  wind, 
that  it  may  go  to  warm  the  soul  of  nature,  and  relieve  them 
of  a  present  death  of  too  much  joy. 

On !  on  they  go  !  The  yellow  flowers  have  been  passed, 
and  now  they  come  to  great  beds  of  the  pink  sweet-william ; 
and  the  swift  stream  on  either  hand  grows  paler  suddenly 
with  a  delicate  flush,  till  they  seem  to  be  careering  down 
some  roseate  river,  rippling  through  the  gates  of  dawn. 

On !  on !  The  pink  flowers  have  been  passed,  and  now 
come  great  beds  of  blue ;  and  the  swift  stream  on  either  hand 
seem  like  a  liquid  sky  fallen  in,  with  here  and  there  a  fleecy 
flake  of  cloud-foam  on  it,  where  some  white  flower  swings  its 
delicate  plume  along  the  wave. 

But  then  this  mad  motion  cannot  last  for  ever.  For  several 
miles  they  had  thus  gone,  when  the  cool  winds  and  the  calm 
of  the  blessed  sun  drew  forth  the  burning  fever  of  that  over 
coming  ecstasy  from  their  throbbing  brains ;  and  now  their 
pulses  could  gradually  subside  to  the  full  but  slower  beat  of 
a  less  tempestuous  happiness. 

They  reined  up  their  reeking  horses  to  a  gentle  canter ; 
and  then  the  subtle  and  more  soothing  influence  of  the  scene 
through  which  they  passed  had  time  to  interpenetrate  their 

beings,  and  they  were  hushed  in  voiceless  awe ! 
X2 


270  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

These  wonderful  prairies  ! — How  gorgeously  strange  they 
seemed  to  them  through  their  love-illumined  senses ! 

Even  to  their  accustomed  eyes,  they  still  were  a  wonder 
and  a  miracle — for  they  combine  many  of  the  most  picturesque 
characteristics  of  both  the  ocean  and  the  sky. 

Here  it  lay  skirted  in  the  vast  circumference  of  a  sky- 
bounded  sea,  while  the  stilled  undulations  rise  and  dip  with 
the  regular  sweep  of  waves.  Had  the  shadow  of  God's  pre 
sence  passed  upon  the  waters  just  while  they  rose  and  fell  in 
the  long  swells  after  a  storm,  and  they  had  grown  afraid,  and 
paused,  to  wait  through  all  time  for  his  mandate  of  release — 
then  would  that  enchanted  sea  have  been  like  the  prairie. 

And  then,  if  on  the  green,  glassy  mirror  of  those  quiet 
billows  the  gorgeous  sunset  of  a  day  of  summer  storms  threw 
down  the  glorious  reflex  of  its  cloud-capped  splendours,  they 
might  see  in  it  the  flowering  robes  the  grand  prairie  wears. 

And  then  all  the  living  creatures  that  they  see  upon  it — 
each  one,  whether  deer,  mustang,  or  tall  white  crane,  stand 
ing  so  still  as  they  approach — amid  the  solemn  silence  of  that 
primeval  solitude — 

"As  idle  as  a  painted  ship 
Upon  a  painted  ocean !" 

that  when  one  moves  it  makes  them  start  to  see  it,  as  if  that 
were  a  kind  of  miracle. 

The  only  sounds  they  hear  are  the  loud,  sweet  thrill  of  the 
yellow  meadow-lark,  which,  bounding  from  the  grass  before 
them,  turns  its  head  as  it  goes  off,  to  show  them  the  black 
shield  on  its  breast,  and  leaves  a  sigh  of  timid  music,  like  a 
perfume,  behind  it,  on  their  ears. 

Or  else  the  little  grass-sparrow,  with  a  shrill,  affrighted 
chirp,  darts  from  near  their  very  feet,  and  dips  quickly  into 
covert  again.  Or  when  they  approach  too  near  the  tall, 
stately  cranes,  and  they  begin  to  stalk  majestically  to  and 
fro  with  ludicrous  gesticulations  of  their  long,  shifting  necks 


THE  WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  271 

—their  hoarse,  sudden  croak  will  strike  thumping  on  their 
ears,  like  a  pistol  shot  at  midnight. 

Scattered  motts  of  timber  begin  to  loom  upon  the  blue 
distance,  like  islands  in  the  sea.  They  approach  them  more 
slowly.  Soon,  from  banks  of  haze,  they  become  more  dis 
tinct  ;  and  first  the  outlines  of  tree-tops,  and  then  that  of 
each  trunk,  is  clearly  defined. 

"  Come !"  said  the  young  girl,  breaking  the  silence  at 
last,  as  she  urged  Black  Hawk  to  a  renewal  of  his  speed. 
"  Here  are  some  of  my  wilderness  loves,  in  this  little 
valley." 

As  she  spoke,  they  commenced  descending  a  gentle  slope 
from  the  prairie  level,  the  sides  of  which  were  covered  with 
a  scattering  growth  of  noble  oaks.  A  stream,  narrow  and 
glistening  with  the  speed  it  made,  held  its  way  down  the 
centre  of  the  valley,  and  lit  the  dark  trunks  and  foliage 
above  with  the  golden  shimmer  thrown  up  by  its  ripples. 

Here  the  grass  seemed  greener  than  elsewhere,  for  the  tint 
was  fresher;  and  as  they  passed  down  below  the  general 
level,  the  roar  of  the  opposing  breeze  ceased  upon  their  ears, 
and  it  was  as  if  they  had  come  suddenly  upon  the  pulseless, 
sleepy  silence  of  the  fenced  valley  of  the  Lotus  Eatus ! 

Before  Carter  could  realize  how  strange  this  transition  was, 
the  young  girl  had  bounded  from  her  horse,  throwing  the 
reins  upon  his  neck,  and  turned  to  him  with  a  flushed  cheek 
and  joyous  laugh — 

"  Dismount,  sir  !  if  you  would  see  and  know  my  Lilliputian 
people !" 

Carter  had  already  obeyed,  and  was  approaching  her 
hastily,  when  she  stooped  forward,  spreading  out  her  arms 
as  if  to  protect  something  which  he  was  crushing  beneath  his 
tread,  and  exclaimed,  in  a  voice  of  tender  entreaty — 

"  Oh  !  beware,  sir  !  Step  more  carefully  !  See  !  see  my 
gentle  flowers." 

Frank  paused  and  looked  down  for  the  first  time,  since  all 


272  THE  WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA, 

his  eyes  had  been  for  her.  He  saw  that  the  sod  about  him 
was  enameled  with  small  flowers  of  the  most  rarely  delicate 
forms,  and  of  colours  as  various  as  they  were  strange. 

He  paused,  in  blank  astonishment !  He  had  never  seen 
any  thing  so  chastely  beautiful ' 

She  laughed  merrily — 

"  Oh,  you  need  not  look  so  wild,  sir !  I  have  done  no 
work  of  enchantment  here  !  Spring  tarries  in  this  sheltered 
valley  nearly  all  the  year — and  spring,  you  know,  possesses 
a  refining  necromancy.  All  flowers  that  I  bring  here  become 
gentle  people,  soon !" 

"  Ah  !"  said  Frank,  with  an  impulse  of  tenderness  he  could 
not  resist,  "  there  need  be  no  idealization  to  account  for  all, 
since  the  imbodied  Spring  is  here ! — But  how  have  you 
managed  to  bring  together  so  many  curious  and  delicate 
flowers  upon  this  remote  spot  ?  I  am  puzzled  ! — the  groups 
seem  too  rich  for  unassisted  nature,  and  yet  they  follow  her 
order  perfectly !  What  is  it  you  have  done,  and  how  have 
you  done  it?" 

"Nothing  wonderful !"  said  she,  with  a  mischievous  twinkle 
in  her  eye.  "Nothing,  at  least,  which  entitles  me  to  assert 
myself  to  be  an  imbodiment  of  Spring.  The  greater  num 
ber  of  the  flowers  you  see  clustered  along  this  slope  down  to 
the  water's  edge,  are  the  growth  of  this  valley.  Here,  the 
grass  is  finer,  the  soil  more  loose  and  better  irrigated,  and 
the  protection  from  the  wind  is  perfect.  The  shade  of  these 
few  scattering  trees  is  just  sufficient  to  preserve  the  cool, 
spring  temperature.  Here,  therefore,  all  the  most  delicate 
flowers  grow  best  and  flourish  longest ;  and  wherever  I  have 
found  them,  during  my  rides,  I  have  taken  them  up  carefully, 
to  be  transplanted  to  this  natural  garden." 

"  But  do  you  not  cultivate  them  ? — I  see  no  evidence  that 
you  have  done  so." 

"  It  is  not  what  you  would  call  cultivation,  in  the  cities. 
T  merely  observe  carefully  the  location,  the  character  of  the 


THE  WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  273 

soil  and  surroundings  in  which  I  find  them  originally ;  and 
when  the  time  for  transfer  comes,  I  bring  each  flower  here, 
and  place  it,  as  nearly  as  I  can  remember,  in  a  similar  loca 
tion  and  amid  like  surroundings.  I  then  pluck  away  the 
grass  and  weeds  from  immediately  about  it,  that  it  may  have 
a  fair  chance  for  a  start ;  after  that  it  must  take  care  of 
itself — and  usually  does." 

"  I  see  you  have  none  of  those  prairie-flowers  here,  through 
such  enormous  beds  of  which  we  galloped  so  ruthlessly,  on 
our  way  here  ?" 

"  Oh,  no !  I  have  no  use  for  such  coarse  flowers,  in  those 
vast  and  firmly  matted  beds ;  presenting,  with  but  little  varia 
tion,  a  single  colour  at  a  time.  They  suit  well  to  the  extent 
and  grandeur  of  the  scene  they  are  intended  to  diversify. 
They  are  like  those  singular  changes  in  the  colour  of  the 
water  of  the  ocean,  with  the  indications  of  which  mariners 
are  so  familiar ;  but  they  are  all  alike — the  individuality  of 
each  is  lost  and  merged  in  the  general  effect !" 

"Ah  !  I  see  !"  said  Frank,  eagerly.  "The  great  sea-like 
plain  of  the  prairie  furnishes,  in  its  broad  contrasts  and  gar 
ish  tints,  a  rude  type  of  earth's  epic  or  heroic  poetry,  in 
colours;  while,  in  this  sheltered  nook,  where  each  of  the 
elements  is  tempered  as  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  and  all 


the  blest  infusions 


That  dwell  in  vegatives,  metals,  stones,' 

co-operate  harmoniously  with  them — the  higher  forms  of  this 
poetry  are  produced  in  more  delicate  shapes,  and  far  intenser, 
more  varied  and  glorious  colours.  It  is  much  like  the  con 
trast  of  the  vague  splendours  of  Milton's  great  epic,  with 
the  chisseled,  gem-like,  and  exquisite  perfection  of  particular 
beauties  of  the  Mask  of  Comus,  and  others  of  his  minor 
poems." 

She  bent  with  a  fond,  caressing  gesture,  over  a  strange, 

frail  little  flower,  the  three  petals  of  which  were  shaped 

18 


274  THE  WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

the  wings  of  a  small  outterfly — out  were  of  such  a  new, 
peculiar,  and  unearthly  tint  of  blue,  that  it  seemed  as  if,  in 
fluttering  down  from  heaven,  it  must  have  brushed  the  colour 
off  from  farthest  space ! — it  looked  so  unfamiliar  and  so  un 
like  all  other  tints  we  know. 

"  Yes ;  it  would  seem  quite  as  sacrilegious  to  me,  to  hear 
this  rare,  blue  stranger — which  is  born  only  beneath  the  most 
beneficent  smiles  of  God — profaned  by  the  association  of  a 
vulgar  name,  as  to  find  the  common  metre  ballad-mongers 
aiming  at  the  glowing,  chaste,  yet  infinite  simplicity  of  such 
an  image  as — 

4  The  holy  dew — 'tis  like  a  pearl 
Dropt  from  the  opening  eyelids  of  the  morn 
Upon  the  bashful  rose !' 

Milton  said  that ;  and  in  doing  so,  conveyed  an  image  to  my 
mind  that  comes,  whenever  memory  brings  it  up,  with  scarcely 
less  of  the  recurring  charm  of  strangeness,  than  does  the 
presence  of  this  wonderful  little  flower  !" 

"  They  are  very  like — with  the  distinction  that  one  is  the 
creation  of  God,  and  the  other  of  a  godlike  humanity.  But 
I  suppose  you  have  the  type,  in  colours  and  in  odours,  of 
many  a  rare  thought  of  highest  poetry  ?" 

"  Surely ;  for  nature's  inspiration  is  more  sure  than  that 
of  any  madman  of  them  all,  with  '  eyes  in  fine  frenzy  roll 
ing.'  These  creatures  are  my  mute  familiars,  and  I  have 
always  thought  they  seemed  to  know  me  when  I  came. 
These  are  my  gentle  nurslings  of  the  wilderness." 

"  But  you  are  far  from  home,  here.  I  wonder  at  your 
audacity !" 

"  It  must  be  a  fleet  and  wary  foe  that  can  surprise  me, 
with  two  such  quick-sensed  watchers  as  Black  Hawk  and 
Fanny.  They  run  to  me  instantly,  on  the  slightest  indication 
of  the  approach  of  any  thing  that  has  danger  in  it,  and  leap 
ing  with  one  bound  into  the  saddle,  I  am  safe, — for  Black 
Hawk  can  defy  in  speed  all  the  marauders,  of  whatever 


THE  WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  275 

colour,  from  whom  I  am  in  danger  out  here.     See ;  I  will 
show  you !" 

She  gave  a  shrill  whistle,  by  placing  her  two  fingers  in  her 
mouth,  and  the  noble  horse,  who  was  feeding  a  hundred  paces 
off,  with  his  head  half-buried  in  the  tall  grass,  wheeled  in 
stantly  and  dashed  to  her  side,  with  the  last  tuft  he  had 
plucked  still  in  his  mouth.  She  placed  her  hand  -on  the 
saddle-bow  and  sprang  quickly  into  the  seat. 

Frank  called  Celeste,  who  came,  though  not  quite  so 
quickly :  and  away  they  went  once  more.  Fanny  looked 
after  them  a  moment,  then  shook  her  head,  and,  with  a  gay 
frisk,  followed. 

They  followed  down  the  valley,  which  led  them  through 
the  open  grove,  amid  a  maze  of  timber-islands.  Through 
these  they  soon  came  to  a  vast  and  magnificent  old  forest — 
like  an  English  park — with  a  cheerful  greensward  underneath, 
and  the  mighty  trees  standing  far  apart. 

Now,  his  strange  guide  seemed  to  have  almost  forgotten 
poor  Frank,  who  became  jealous.  Here  a  bird's  nest  had  to 
be  visited,  the  winged  people  of  which  seemed  half  a  mind 
not  to  be  frightened ;  she  would  look  into  it,  without  touch 
ing,  then  drop  some  food  near,  and  gallop  on.  Then  she 
made  Frank  pause  in  sight  of  a  great  old  oak.  She  rode  up 
to  it  alone,  and,  tapping  on  it  with  her  switch  right  sharply, 
she  waited  some  moments  for  her  summons  to  be  obeyed. 
Soon,  to  his  infinite  amazement  and  delight,  Frank  saw  a 
small  head  put  forth  from  a  round  hole  some  distance  up  the 
trunk :  a  gray  squirrel  came  forth  cautiously,  and,  with  wide 
spread  tail,  making  a  low  chattering  sound,  commenced  de 
scending  towards  her  white,  outstretched  hand. 

Soon  came  another  forth,  which  was  smaller,  and  seemed 
to  be  a  young  one.  Others  followed,  until  there  were  four 
of  them  upon  the  trunk,  beside  the  old  one.  These  were 
more  timid,  and  did  not  come  down  quite  to  her  hand ;  but 
the  mother  did,  and,  snatching  from  it  a  small  ear  of  pop-corn. 


276        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

darted  up  the  trunk  again,  and  disappeared  in  the  hole,  fol 
lowed  by  her  young. 

She  laughed  gayly,  and  turning  towards  Frank  said,  as  she 
joined  him — 

"  You  see,  sir,  that  you  are  a  formidable  person,  for  my  timid 
Bunny  would  not  stay  to  be  caressed  as  usual,  for  her  quick 
senses  had  perceived  that  there  was  a  stranger  near.  I  called 
to  her — Bunny  !  Bunny  ! — without  avail,  for  she  had  caught 
a  glimpse  of  you,  and  would  not  stay  to  thank  me." 

"  But  how,  in  the  name  of  all  miracles  and  wonders,  have 
you  managed  to  tame  this  wild  creature  so?" 

"  Oh  !  naturally  enough  !  Bunny  was  an  old  pet  of  mine, 
and  lived  in  my  room  with  me  for  two  years ;  and  then  I  took 
a  fancy  to  bring  her  out  here  into  the  neighbourhood  of  my 
flowers !  I  found  that  old  oak  without  any  tenants  in  its 
chambers,  and  I  brought  her  here,  leaving  a  sufficient  supply 
of  food  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  to  last  her  for  some  days,  until 
she  became  accustomed  to  the  new  circumstances,  and  learned 
to  provide  for  herself.  She  took  possession  of  the  tree,  and, 
as  I  came  to  visit  her  every  day,  our  friendship  has  never 
fallen  through ! 

"  I  have  almost  made  a  conquest,  too,  of  the  wild  lover  she 
has  found  out  here :  and  shall  certainly  make  friends  with 
her  little  folks— one  of  which  frequently  comes  down  to  eat 
from  my  hand.  So  you  see,  sir,  I  am  not  quite  a  witch, 
after  all !" 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  am  any  the  less  convinced  of  that, 
now  !"  said  Frank,  with  a  meaning  smile. 

They  rode  on  slowly  through  the  forest.  She  had  a  thou 
sand  things  to  show  him,  for  her  sharp  observation  and  soli 
tary  wanderings  had  made  her  quite  as  familiar  with  the 
homes  and  habits  of  the  creatures  of  that  forest,  as  if  it  had 
been  a  city  of  humanity,  in  exploring  the  haunts  and  charac 
ters  of  which,  her  life  had  been  spent. 

Now,  she  would  tell  him  of  some  peculiar  shrub  or  tree, 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA.  277 

remarkable  for  beauty  or  for  rareness,  and  then  she  would 
dart  away  to  lead  him  to  see  it  with  her. 

Then  Frank  would  murmur  in  her  ear — 

"  Confess  that  my  suspicions  are  well  grounded ;  repeat, 
now,  the  confessional  after  me : — 

*  I  am  the  power 

Of  this  fair  wood ;  to  live  in  open  bower, 
To  nurse  the  saplings  tall,  and  curl  the  grove 
With  ringlets  quaint  and  wanton  windings, 
And  all  my  plants  to  save  from  nightly  ill 
Of  noisome  winds  and  blasting  vapours  chill ; 
And  from  the  boughs  brush  off  the  evil  dew, 
And  heal  the  harms  of  thwarting  thunder  blue ; 
Or,  what  the  cross,  dire-looking  planet  smites, 
Or  hurtful  worm,  with  canker'd  venom,  bites !'  " 

"  Pshaw !  pshaw !  You  are  even  more  sadly  beset  than 
the  lost  lady  in  the  enchanted  wood  ;  for,  though  I  found  you 
lost — a  gloomy  wanderer,  and  have  been  doing  all  since  that 
I  could  to  open  your  eyes  to  the  real  world  about  you,  still 
you  will  hear  the  'airy  tongues.' ' 

"  No  ;  you  cannot  dodge  my  implication  so — for  what  is 
your  mission  now,  but  to 

'  Number  your  ranks,  and  visit  every  sprout 
With  puissant  words  and  murmurs,  made  to  bless !' — 

Answer  me  this?" 

u  Oh,  never  mind  !  Come  on  !"  and  away  she  would  lead 
again,  to  show  him  the  fox's  den ;  and  when  they  came  near 
it,  she  would  rein  up,  and  approach  with  a  slow,  cautious  tread, 
and  point  out  to  him  the  young  cubs  gambolling  in  the  sun 
before  a  hole  which  had  been  dug  beneath  the  upturned 
roots  of  some  huge  forest  Titan,  that  had  been  thrown  in 
wrestling  with  the  storm. 

When  they  took  the  alarm,  and  hurried  in,  she  was  off  again 
with  a  merry  laugh. 

Now,  she  would  stop  her  horse  suddenly  beside  the  decay 
ing  stump  of  a  small  tree,  into  which  the  woodpeckers  had 


278  THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE  NEBRASKA. 

hollowed  for  themselves  a  chamber  once  upon  a  time ;  but 
now,  when  she  touched  it,  a  flying-squirrel  would  rush  out, 
with  its  large  and  meek  black  eyes  glistening  in  affright,  and 
from  the  top  would  dart  away,  with  its  rich-furred  membrane 
spread  like  wings — all  white  beneath — and  sail  to  some  neigh 
bouring  trunk. 

Then  she  would  take  the  soft  young  ones  from  their  warm 
bed  and  caress  them  tenderly,  and  show  Frank  their  bright, 
gentle  eyes,  and  talk  to  them  in  a  quaint,  rippling  tongue, 
which  she  seemed  to  have  learned  from  the  waters,  the  winds, 
and  the  trees. 

They  were  placed  back  all  gingerly  and  snug  again,  and 
some  food  left  for  the  mother,  which  Frank  now,  for  the  first 
time,  observed  was  taken  from  a  pouch  which  she  carried  at 
her  saddle-bow. 

Now  they  were  off  again,  for  she  had  always  some  new 
pet  or  wonder  that  he  must  see ;  and  so  the  day  went  swiftly 

by- 

The  dinner  was  forgotten  by  them  both,  for  they  were  too 
happy  to  think  of  eating. 

As  the  evening  came  on,  the  character  of  the  forest  they 
were  travelling  became  changed.  From  the  open  glades, 
which  it  seemed  as  if  the  most  careful  cultivation  could  not 
have  improved,  they  had  gradually  come  into  a  more  rank 
and  denser  growth. 

Frank  had  an  idea  that  they  had  been  skirting  the  edge 
of  the  great  prairie  round  towards  the  rancho  again,  and 
were  entering  the  dense  and  formidable  forest  of  the  Black 
Walnut  Bottom,  concerning  which  we  have  already  heard 
something.  They  had  been  happy  all  day — too  happy  for 
words  to  tell !  Like  unheeding  children,  they  had  gone  out 
to  play,  and  through  hours  had  gambolled  on  the  lap  of  Na 
ture — that  ancient  mother,  who  yet  is  ever  young. 

They  had  rather  felt  each  other,  and  been  meekly  joyous, 
as  they  went  side  by  side,  than  talked  much,  except  in  a 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  279 

fragmentary  way.  This  was  too  much  happiness.  It  could 
not  be  real !  There  must  be  some  wild  delusion  here  !  He 
had  struggled  so  forlornly  all  his  life  with  that  ever  present 
yet  treacherous  Shadow  of  the  Ideal,  that  he  could  not  realize 
this  the  embodied  Real  found  at  last. 

The  reaction  of  the  bewildering  joy — the  glorified  beatitude 
of  all  that  day — was  now  distrust.  Every  thing  he  had  yet 
found  to  lavish  the  garnered  tenderness  of  his  whole  life 
upon,  had  somehow  played  him  false! 

Could  it  be  that  this  was  any  higher,  purer  than  the  rest  ? 
Certainly  he  had  never  met  a  being  that  seemed  to  nestle 
with  such  sublime  faith  right  close  to  the  heart  of  Nature, 
where  her  pulses  might  be  felt  to  guide  a  life  by — but  yet ! 
but  yet !  there  was  too  much  joy  in  all  this  for  him  to  realize 
at  once  ! 

There  were  dark  suspicions  gathered  around  the  life  of 
this  fair  young  creature.  Her  father  was  a  wonderfully 
acute,  and,  may  be,  bad  man.  She  evidently  loved  him  with 
an  entire  devotion.  It  might  be,  if  this  gray-haired  man 
was  vicious — as  he  instinctively  felt  him  to  be — that  he  still 
had  enough  of  sacredness  left  in  him  to  guard  her  from  a 
knowledge  of  his  vices  and  his  crimes,  and  felt  that  he  pro 
pitiated  Heaven  in  permitting  her  to  live,  in  unconscious 
ignorance  of  all  this,  happily  with  Nature. 

With  such  gloomy  and  distrustful  thoughts  as  these,  the 
life  of  Frank  Carter  had  been  hushed  for  some  time,  and  his 
brows  grown  unconsciously  contracted.  The  shadow,  too, 
had  fallen  on  the  girl,  and  she  rode  mutely  by  his  side,  in 
timid  consciousness  ;  but  what  it  meant  she  knew  not.  That 
she  was  all  at  once  unhappy,  she  knew. 

They  were  penetrating  more  deeply  into  the  sombre  forest, 
and  the  lengthened  shadows,  as  they  fell  across  his  form, 
seemed  to  darken  his  heart  yet  more. 

But  there  was  that  in  this  primitive  Nature,  wearing  her 
century-calms  upon  her  front,  which  could  not  fail  to  over- 


280        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

come  him  with  a  spell — to  sink  a  nameless  awe  into  his  being 
— brooding  in  shadowy  peace  upon  the  tumult  of  excitement 
the  passions  had  been  subjected  to  during  the  late  incidents. 

Nowhere  does  this  invisible  power  make  itself  so  palpably 
felt  as  in  the  deep-tangled  aisles  of  an  old  Southern  forest ; 
when  the  sun  is  near  setting,  too,  as  it  was  then,  and  strikes 
its  levelled  rays  square  athwart  the  gloom,  glorifying  in  lines 
and  angles  the  stout,  rugged  boles  and  gnarled  arms  over 
head,  leaving  the  severed  shades  sharply  defined  beneath  and 
between  the  sheeted  gold. 

High  up,  sitting  in  the  halo,  the  roseate-headed  Caracara 
eagle  screams  to  its  mate — the  black-squirrel  sputters  and 
barks,  whisking  its  dusky  brush,  and  saucily  stamping  on  the 
pecan  bark — the  long  whoo-oose  of  the  bull-bat  sighs  hoarsely 
through  the  air — the  paroquet,  with  its  shrill,  waspish  chat 
tering,  in  a  glimmer  of  lit  emeralds,  goes  by — the  far  tocsin 
tolled  from  out  the  swamp-lake  by  the  wood-ibis,  or  dropped 
smiting  suddenly  from  the  clouds,  as  the  great  snowy  crane 
sails  over — the  low,  quavering  wail  of  the  dotted  ocelot — the 
hack-hack,  and  quick,  prolonged  rattle  of  the  ivory-billed 
woodpecker's  hammer — the  smothered  shriek  of  the  prowling 
wild-cat,  impatient  for  the  night — the  chirr  !  chirr !  of  the 
active  little  creeper — the  cracked  gong  of  the  distant  bittern 
— these  were  the  sights  and  sounds  that  gradually  lulled  and 
charmed  him  into  utter  abstraction — and  of  course  into  entire 
forgetfulness  of  every  other  purpose  and  object  than  the 
passion  in  his  heart,  and  the  being  at  his  side  who  had  thus 
led  him  in  reach  of  their  enchantment. 

His  heedless  pace  had  gradually  slackened — for  the  mood 
of  dreams  was  on  him.  The  unpleasant  realities  of  the  wild, 
unnatural  life  he  had  been  leading  disappeared,  and  in  deli 
cious  revelations  the  ideal  life  of  calm  and  holy  peace  came 
around  him ;  and  in  the  hushed  quiet  of  that  lull,  the  bewil 
dered  fancy  danced  with  its  own  airy  creatures  to  the  merry 
click  of  the  castanet  a  bright-eyed  woodchuck  was  sounding, 


THE  WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  281 

as  it  sat  familiarly  on  the  other  end  of  a  log  by  which  they 
paused. 

Doubts,  anger,  suffering,  suspicions,  all  were  as  things  that 
had  been  and  were  not,  while  his  heart  was  made  blissful  of 
its  latest  memories  amid  these  evening  choristers ! 

Now  his  trance  was  broken,  and  he  turned  to  her  with  a 
bright,  meaning  look,  and  her  life  answered  to  the  summons 
joyously,  for  she  knew  that  his  spirit  had  struggled  into 
freedom  now. 

During  the  hour's  gallop  which  it  required  to  reach  home, 
they  rode  with  clasped  hands,  without  speaking  a  word. 
When  they  reached  the  rancho,  the  young  girl  found  that 
her  father  was  not  at  home ;  and,  with  a  bewitching  air  of 
confidence,  invited  the  young  man  to  pass  with  her  that 
narrow  door  beside  the  fireplace,  which  he  had  regarded  with 
such  curious  envy. 

Here  he  found  every  thing  as  pure  as  he  had  dreamed  it 
should  be  in  the  penetralia  of  such  a  life. 

There  were  many  books,  a  harp,  and  a  guitar.  The  rude 
walls  were  hung  about  with  quaint,  but  wild  and  graceful 
ornaments.  Beside  these,  her  ingenious  fingers  had  plaited 
of  flowers  inwreathed  with  coloured  quills  and  natural  grasses, 
there  were  paintings,  in  water-colours,  of  scenes  and  faces 
which  indicated  the  highest  order  of  talent. 

After  the  evening  meal,  she  sang  to  him  many  songs,  with 
the  accompaniment  of  one  or  the  other  instrument.  Most  of 
these  airs  were  old  familiar  friends  to  him ;  but  many  of 
them  seemed  to  be  improvised,  as  if  she  had  caught  the 
strathspey  that  the  wild  winds  make  when  they  go  echoing 
amid  cliffs,  whispering  through  the  deep,  mysterious  woods, 
or  moaning  off  through  vast  prairies  into  silence ! 

Frank  went  to  bed  that  night,  and  could  not  tell,  for  a 
long  time,  whether  it  was  that  he  dreamed  or  was  afloat  upon 
a  strange,  gleaming  sea,  that  lulled  him  on  its  waves  of  light, 

as  they  rocked  to  and  fro  harmoniously.    It  was  enough  that, 
Y2 


282        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

sleeping  or  waking,  the  cup  of  joy  was  filled  up  for  him,  until 
even  with 

"Beaded  bubbles  winking  at  the  brim." 

The  next  day  was  much  a  repetition  of  the  last,  so  far  as 
these  young  people  were  willing  actors. 

There  had  been  no  word  of  love  spoken  between  them,  and 
why  was  this  necessary  ?  They  felt  each  other,  saw  each 
other,  heard  each  other,  lived  through  each  other,  and  what 
more? 

It  seemed  to  Frank  as  if  the  sun  was  bright  because  her 
cheek  was  to  shine  upon,  and  he  grew  savagely  jealous  of 

"The  common-kissing  Titan." 

The  earth  rejoiced  because  of  her,  and  the  birds  sang  to 
do  her  praise ! 

They  went  forth  again  to  visit  the  sweet  valley  of  wild 
flowers,  to  see  the  squirrels,  and  many  another  wild  thing 
that  she  knew  and  loved. 

As  they  skirted  the  forest,  on  their  return,  they  saw  a  long- 
winged  hawk  swoop  from  the  clouds  and  disappear  in  the 
deep  grass  of  the  prairie.  In  a  moment,  it  came  flapping 
heavily  up  again,  bearing  a  hare  in  its  claws.  The  creature 
cried  out,  as  it  was  borne  up,  with  that  plaintive,  melancholy 
wail  peculiar  to  the  species  when  captured  and  in  pain. 

It  was  quite  close  to  them  that  it  had  been  struck ;  for  the 
hawk  had,  as  is  their  custom  on  the  prairies,  been  poised  for 
some  time  above  the  heads  of  the  riders,  watching  to  strike 
whatever  small  game  they  should  scare  up  in  their  progress. 

The  wail  of  the  poor  creature  was  so  touching,  that  they 
urged  their  horses  forward  with  one  impulse,  in  the  hope  to 
rescue  it.  They  did  not  succeed,  but  were  close  enough  to 
see  the  bright,  inexorable  eye  of  the  winged  marauder. 

Frank  raised  his  gun,  and  was  about  to  fire,  when  she 
touched  his  arm. 

"No,  no!   do  not  shoot — let  him  go!"     He  lowered  hi? 


THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA.         283 

gun,  and  turned  to  her  in  surprise,  which  was  heightened  when 
he  saw  that  tears  were  streaming  from  her  eyes. 

"  Why  not  shoot  ?     You  are  weeping  for  the  poor  hare  !" 

"  Yes ;  because  its  plaintive  cry  was  eloquent  to  me,  for 
help  and  mercy !  Yet  to  the  hawk,  that  same  cry  was  only 
an  appetizer,  whetting  the  raven  in  its  maw  !  The  hawk  was 
hungry,  and  the  hare  must  die !" 

u  But  suppose  I  was  hungry ;  should  the  hare  die  then  ?" 
And  Frank  gazed  into  her  face  with  curious  eagerness. 

"  Yes ;  surely  !  if  there  was  absolutely  nothing  else  for 
you  to  eat.  I  do  not  reason — I  only  feel !  But  it  seems  to 
me,  that  even  if  you  seized  the  hare  with  the  clutch  of  famish 
ing  eagerness,  you  would  feel  that  such  a  piteous  moan  as  we 
just  heard,  would  move  you  to  weep  before  you  could  devour 
the  creature  with  flesh  and  blood  so  like  your  own !" 

"  Thank  you  !  thank  you  a  thousand  times  !"  said  Frank, 
joyously.  "  Your  beautiful  instincts  clearly  confirm  my  own 
theory.  You  feel  a  profound  truth,  without  reasoning  upon 
it.  The  power  of  articulating  sound — which  is,  of  course, 
the  most  perfect  mode  of  conveying  sensation — constitutes 
the  dividing  line  between  a  monstrous  cannibalism  and  a  legiti 
mate  diet.  Man  is  the  highest  type  of  the  Divine — the  most 
immediate  representative  of  God  upon  the  earth.  All  articu 
lated  sounds  are  significant  to  him ;  and,  wherever  the  power 
of  producing  these  sounds  exists,  it  evidently  places  the  crea 
ture  in  intelligent  communion  with  its  loyal  liege — for  it 
enables  it  to  appeal  to  him  for  mercy,  for  protection,  and  for 
help  !  It  is  well  enough  for  hawks,  wild-cats,  and  all  other 
creatures,  who  are,  on  the  ascending  scale,  merely  birds  and 
beasts  of  prey,  to  be  dumb  to  this  sort  of  appeal ;  but  for  us, 
who  should  be  angels  unto  them,  with  a  compelling  splendour 
on  our  brows — who  walk  among  them  with  a  higher  sense, 
and  know  the  mournful  language  of  their  agony,  to  devour 
them,  groans,  shrieks,  yells,  moans,  red  blood,  and  all,  is  one 
of  the  worst  forms  of  cannibalism  !  You  will  observe  that  it 


284        THE  WILD  GIRL  OF  THE  NEBRASKA. 

is  only  the  red-blooded  animals  which  are  capable  of  pro 
ducing  sounds  the  meaning  of  which  our  senses  can  compre 
hend.  The  evening  song  of  the  mocking-bird  teems  with 
inspiration,  and  is  a  joy  and  a  glory  to  us,  while  that  of  the 
katydid  contains  about  as  much,  significant  of  the  desires  and 
passions  of  the  creature  itself,  as  the  rasping  sound  of  two 
dry  sticks  rubbed  together." 

So  the  day  passed,  while  they  looked  love,  but  discoursed 
of  curious  truths.  They  reached  the  rancho  about  dark,  and 
found  there  all  the  bustle  and  confusion  which  indicated  a 
new  arrival. 

There  were  many  horses  grouped  outside  the  picketing, 
and  the  Indians  of  the  rancho  were  busy  in  hospitable  cares 
among  them. 

"  Ha !  they  have  come  !"  said  Frank,  eagerly  springing 
to  the  ground.  He  almost  forgot  to  offer  his  hand  to  assist 
the  young  girl  in  dismounting,  so  full  was  he  of  joy.  But  she 
saved  him  the  trouble,  and  led  the  way  over  the  picketing. 

He  found  all  his  friends  in  the  room  where  he  had  first 
been  received.  Then  congratulations  were  warmly  exchanged, 
and  he  even  embraced  Clenny  in  his  rapture.  The  gray- 
haired  man  was  there,  and  formally  presented  his  daughter 
to  Mr.  Clenny. 

Frank  was  not  so  far  blinded  by  his  happiness  that  he 
failed  to  observe  how  pale  she  turned,  as  she  recognised  his 
friend  most  formally,  after  an  involuntary  start,  either  when 
she  heard  his  name,  or  saw  his  features  fully,  he  could  not 
tell  which.  But  he  remembered  the  fact  for  many  a  day 
after. 

She  continued  to  be  pale,  abstracted,  and  constrained 
during  the  remainder  of  the  evening,  and  Frank  was  greatly 
troubled.  It  was  a  relief  to  him  when  their  host  proposed 
they  should  retire  to  sleep. 

Frank  noticed,  too — for  his  watchful  eye  let  nothing  pass 
—that  although  himself  and  the  four  men  were  invited  to 


THE   WILD    GIRL    OF   THE    NEBRASKA.  285 

sleep  upon  the  floor  of  the  same  room,  still  his  friend  Clenny 
was  invited  to  sleep  elsewhere — perhaps  in  that  mysterious 
room — a  vision  through  the  half-open  door  of  which  had 
already  cost  him  so  much  of  pain. 

That  night,  when  Carter  was  fast  enough  asleep,  dreaming 
of  love  and  joy,  four  men  were  awake — wide  awake,  in  that 
mysterious  chamber,  plotting  of  many  things  which  would 
not  have  quite  comported  with  the  tenor  of  his  dreams. 

There  were  three  pallets  of  buffalo-robes  upon  the  floor  of 
this  room,  and  when  the  gray-haired  man  entered,  bearing  a 
shaded  lamp  in  his  hand,  the  three  men  sprang  to  their  feet 
as  they  had  lain  down,  fully  dressed,  and  with  their  arms 
about  them. 

He  set  the  lamp  down  on  the  small,  rude  table,  and  they 
gathered  about  it. 

"  What  the  d 1  is  the  meaning,  my  honoured  uncle 

Cedric,  of  this  last  most  inconvenient  and  most  ridiculous 
stratagem  of  yours — the  stampede  of  all  the  horses  belonging 
to  our  party  ?  You  left  me  in  a  nice  position,  sucking  my 
thumbs  like  a  bear  or  a  zaney." 

"  Pshaw !  Newnon,  do  not  be  impertinent.  You  know 
that  my  scheme  was  well  devised.  You  should  have  known 
the  topography  of  the  country  better  than  to  have  permitted 
him  to  come  this  way.  My  spies  told  me  that  your  general 
course  would  bring  you  directly  into  this  neighbourhood. 
This  was  to  be  prevented.  I  did  not  wish  him  to  see  Freta, 
and  you  were  likely  to  cross  her  eccentric  track  any  moment. 
My  Indians  carried  off  your  horses,  but  that  cursed  Celeste 
broke  away  and  went  back,  only  to  bring  about  the  very 
meeting  that  I  dreaded.  They  met  in  the  woods,  and  she 
brought  him  here.  I  knew  the  youngster  at  a  glance,  though 
I  wondered  utterly  how  you  could  have  let  him  go.  I  found 
him  to  be  just  the  fiery,  impracticable  fool  you  had  repre 
sented  ;  for  when  he  saw  the  horses  of  your  party  in  my 
horse-pen,  the  next  morning,  he  was  so  savagely  indignant 


286  THE   WILD   GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

and  insulting,  that  he  raised  the  devil  even  in  me !  Freta 
interposed  in  time  to  prevent  my  getting  rid  of  the  trouble 
some  yonker.  I  had  one  of  my  white  fits  on  me,  which,  as 
you  know,  do  not  often  occur  for  nothing ! — but  when  the 
girl  interposed,  a  new  idea  flashed  upon  me.  I  saw  that  he 
was  already  in  love,  and  I  determined  to  encourage  the  thing 
to  the  utmost." 

"  Why  did  you  not  have  him  shot  at  once  ?"  said  Clenny, 
with  a  spasmodic  gesture. 

"  Keep  cool,  my  gentle  Newnon,"  said  Cedric,  with  a 
sneering  smile. 

"I  see  clearly  how  we  are  to  manage  this  incorrigible 
youth,  without  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  any  such  extremi 
ties.  We  have  only  to  disgust  him  with  his  ideal  here,  and 
he  will  go  back  to  Myra  Haynes  again !  So  you  need  not 
grow  any  whiter,  if  you  can  help  it.  This  child  you  seem  to 
have  cultivated  an  insane  passion  for  since  her  infancy,  is 
quite  as  astute  as  you.  She  is  only  to  be  won  through  her 
intellect.  I  have  given  her  sympathies  the  proper  direction 
to  insure  this.  This  boy  cannot  touch  her  life,  for  she  has 
learned  to  love  and  expend  her  overflowing  sentiment  and 
sympathies  upon  another  class  of  objects,  and  now  she  is 
only  to  be  commanded. 

"  This  is  a  stern  word,  Newnon ;  but  you  are  just  the  man 
to  live  up  to  its  condition.  Make  her  respect  your  intellect 
— impose  her  life  with  the  results  you  shall  accomplish,  and 
she  will  give  to  you  the  love  she  has  to  spare  from  her 
flowers,  birds,  trees,  and  indeed  all  the  wild  creatures  of  the 
natural  world,  with  whom  she  is  now  in  strict  communion." 

"  I  like  the  peril  of  the  game,  my  good  uncle  ! — there  is 
something  exciting  in  it  to  me.  But  what  are  we  to  do  with 
that  person  for  the  present  ?  I  recall  my  hasty  speech  just 
now.  I  have  a  respect  for  him  personally,  for  he  has  a  great 
deal  in  him  ;  and  when  he  can  be  scourged  out  of  the  sphere 
of  this  childish  sentimentalism,  which  has  given  me  so  much 


THE   WILD    GIRL   OF   THE   NEBRASKA.  287 

trouble,  he  will  be  a  great  acquisition  to  us — for  even  if  he 
lives  merely  upon  the  memory  of  that  daring  enthusiasm  of 
his,  he  would  be  the  subtlest  agent  of  our  purpose  we  have 
ever  had — for,  of  a  surety,  it  would  impose  upon  Lucifer 
himself!  How  do  you  propose  to  get  rid  of  him  ?" 

"  Never  mind  !  I  shall  get  rid  of  him  to-morrow !  But 
let  us  proceed  to  other  business." 

The  two  men  whose  faces  Frank  had  seen  for  a  moment, 
and  who  had  appeared  to  be  impassive  spectators  during  all 
this  scene,  now  drew  up  closely  around  the  table,  and  at 
once  the  four  persons  went  into  a  close  discussion  of  other 
matters,  which,  however  far-reaching,  we  must  leave  to  be 
developed  in  their  future  results. 

The  morning  has  come,  and  Frank  has  gone  forth  again 
upon  his  gay  Celeste,  with  the  young  girl  on  her  glossy 
steed — and  they  are  full  of  love  as  yesterday. 

Away !  away  they  go,  asking  of  Nature  only  joy — and 
leaving  the  gray  Cedric  to  scheme  with  his  apt  nephew  of 
"  stratagems  and  spoils."  They  were  unconscious  of  every 
thing  but  of  the  sunshine  and  of  happiness. 

The  day  had  gone  by  with  them  as  the  others — they  looked 
love  into  each  other's  eyes,  as  they  had  done  since  they  first 
met,  and  now  felt  it  more,  because  the  passion  had  grown 
stilled  within  them,  and  warmed  them  with  a  quiet  glow,  like 
that  which  the  sun  sinks  down  into  the  earth,  in  spring,  to 
come  up  again  in  such  an  odorous  beaming  silence  through 
young  flowers. 

They  were  riding  through  a  narrow  path  which  led  from 
out  the  dark  tangles  of  the  forest  of  the  Black  Walnut  Bottom 
— Frank  was  speaking  to  her  of  the  gentle  themes  which  had 
absorbed  their  lives,  and  she  clung  upon  his  words  with  looks, 
when  all  at  once  Celeste  and  Black  Hawk  shied  together, 
and  darted  away  in  a  panic  of  affright,  and  on  the  instant 
poor  Frank  found  himself  constrained  and  dragged  powerless 
from  his  saddle,  with  a  lasso  about  his  neck,  while  several 


288  THE   WILD    GIRL    OF   THE   NEBRASKA. 

Indians  rushed  upon  him  from  the  thicket.  With  fading 
vision  he  last  saw  the  young  girl  going  off  at  speed,  as  if 
unconscious  he  had  disappeared  from  her  side. 

The  latest  sound  he  heard,  too,  was  the  shrill  neigh  of 
Celeste,  and  then  a  choking  sensation  darkened  on  his  life — 
and  all  was  black  to  him ! 


DREAMS  come  to  dreamers  out  on  the  waste  ways  and  in 
the  wilderness,  as  well  as  in  narrow  walls  amid  crowded 
streets.  The  ideal  is  pursued  in  both,  and  is  as  fleeting 
here  as  there.  Should  it  seem  strange,  then,  that  our  hunter- 
poet  has  dreamed  a  short  dream  beneath  the  deep  shadows 
of  that  old  forest  by  the  far  and  swift  Nebraska?  His 
awakening  into  darkness  is  but  the  common  way.  Does  not 
black  night  follow  the  rosy-tinted  morn  ?  Even  the  bird, 
with  most  aspiring  pinion,  flashes  not  the  sunlight  off  it 
always ;  he  too  must  sink  from  his  exulting,  and  crouch  be 
neath  the  overcoming  shadows,  where  the  prowling  owl  goes 
hooting  with  the  moaning  wolf,  and  all  foul  things  shine  upon 
the  dark,  with  their  green,  phosphorescent  eyes.  We  have  no 
new  paradise  as  yet  on  earth,  all  fenced  about  against  its 
evils  ;  we  have  no  dove-cotes  of  the  ideal  where  hungry  kites 
forget  to  swoop.  It  is  all  alike — the  flowers  grow  in  wilder 
ness  as  well  as  city — and  though  the  winds  may  make  them 
wilder,  as  our  Freta  was,  yet  not  less  delicate  are  they. 
Young,  manly  hearts  beat  fast  and  warm,  and  yearn  upon 
the  amorous  air,  though  may  be  with  a  swifter  beat,  out-doors 
upon  the  sea-like  plain,  and  through  the  mighty  aisles  of 
"perplexed  wood." 

We  shall  see — we  shall  see  !  Perhaps  the  wild  flower  wilts 
within  the  city.  Perhaps  the  dreams  forsake  the  dreamer 
where  the  dust  of  strife  is  thickened.  The  ideal  may  not 
live  in  a  sooty,  stifling  air.  We  shall  see  ! 


THE  WILD   GIRL   OF  THE   NEBRASKA.  289 

A  just  knowledge  of  life  requires  a  degree  of  familiarity 
with  its  two  extremes.  The  madness  and  crime  of  the  one 
may  be  the  joy  or  justice  of  the  other.  These  extremes 
reflect  upon  and  are  interwoven  with  each  other,  far  more 
clearly  and  intimately  than  fireside  philosophy  can  usually 
realize. 

It  is  our  business  to  give  the  realities  of  the  Border,  to  be 
sure  ;  but  then  these  realities  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
wilderness.  They  may  leave  their  footprints  as  plainly 
upon  Broadway  or  Chestnut  street,  as  upon  the  war-path  or 
buffalo-trace.  Such  brief  and  sudden  episodes  as  this  we 
have  just  given  in  the  adventures  of  our  friend  Frank  Carter, 
are  by  no  means  peculiar  to  either  condition  of  life,  savage 
or  civilized,  since  we  have  daily  examples  that,  let  it  begin 
in  whichever  extreme  it  may,  it  frequently  ends  in  the  oppo 
site.  Nor  is  it  any  more  true  that  cut-throats  and  despe 
radoes,  spitfires  and  viragoes  are  the  only  characters  to  be 
found  on  the  frontiers  of  civilization  or  in  the  hearts  of  the 
wilderness,  than  it  is  true  that  burglars  and  sharpers,  the 
murderess  and  the  shrew,  are  the  sole  and  peculiar  denizens 
of  the  city.  Each  has  its  contrasts — and  concerning  these  I 
shall  proceed  to  "speak  that  I  do  know." 


19 


THE  FIGHT  OF  THE  PINTO  TKACE. 


BUT  while  these  sentimental  and  mysterious  affairs,  men 
tioned  in  our  last  chapters  were  being  enacted,  the  author, 
who,  it  will  be  found,  has  been  in  one  way  or  another  mixed 
up  with  the  whole  apparently  disconnected  train  of  events 
heretofore  given  in  this  series,  was  engaged,  a  little  farther 
south,  in  a  rougher  and  somewhat  different  amusement.  I 
was  still  with  the  Rangers,  who  had  lately  enjoyed  a  longer 
period  of  idleness  than  was  usual ;  and  although  we  had  quite 
fallen  into  listless  and  loaferish  habits,  the  news  that  the 
Camanches  were  down  in  considerable  force,  and  ravaging 
the  settlements,  was  sufficient  to  drive  us  to  the  saddle  in 
double-quick  time.  The  dusky  marauders  of  the  mountains 
had  been  unusually  audacious  on  this  new  foray,  and  we 
heard,  from  all  the  settlements  within  fifty  miles,  alarms  of 
their  bloody  visitation. 

They  move  from  point  to  point  with  such  surprising  ra 
pidity,  that  a  long  line  of  frontier  is  frequently  swept  by 
them  before  the  alarm  can  be  spread  sufficiently  to  permit  a 
rally  of  its  defenders  in  time  to  intercept  the  mischief.  They 
can  then  only  pursue ;  and  as  these  robber  horsemen  are, 
though  laden  down  with  plunder,  often  as  prompt  and  cun 
ning  in  their  return  as  in  the  descent,  the  pursuit  is  fre 
quently  bootless. 

We  had  usually  been  quick  enough  for  them — since  our 

Ranger  organization  had  been  perfected  bv  Hays  in  view  of 

291 


292  THE   FIGHT   OF   THE   PINTO   TRACE. 

immediate  efficiency  in  these  very  emergencies — but  this 
time  we  somehow  missed  the  figure.  We  wefe  promptly 
enough  under  way  when  we  heard  the  news — perhaps  in 
fifteen  minutes  we  were  all  mounted  and  off!  But  the  re 
ports  which  came  in  were  confused  and  vague,  which  caused 
us  to  lose  a  great  deal  of  time  in  finding  the  true  seat  of 
operations. 

We  started  wrong,  and  lost  a  whole  day  in  finding  the 
trail  of  the  plunderers.  When  we  at  last  found  it,  we  saw 
that  they  must  have  passed  nearly  twelve  hours  before.  With 
such  a  start,  it  was  useless  to  hope  that  we  could  overtake 
them  by  following  up  the  windings  of  the  trail. 

Our  only  chance  was  to  intercept  them  by  some  short  cut 
before  they  reached  the  mountains.  Hays  judged  from  their 
general  course  that  they  would  make  for  the  head  waters  of 
the  Guadaloupe ;  and  trusting  to  his  sagacity,  we  crossed  the 
trail  and  struck  off  over  the  plains  in  that  direction. 

We  were  fifteen  men  in  all,  and  now  that  our  course  had 
been  determined,  we  moved  on  at  a  spanking  pace,  like  men 
who  had  something  certain  to  accomplish  before  them.  The 
outset  of  a  pursuit  of  this  kind  is  always  a  merry  time  with 
the  Rangers.  They  have  had  a  rest,  and  are  flushed  with 
animal  spirits,  if  not  with  spirits  of  another  sort,  and  rush 
forth  whooping  in  ungovernable  delight  at  the  prospect  of 
any  new  excitement.  Their  horses  are  fresh,  too,  and  drink 
the  strong  breeze  against  which  they  breast  as  fuel  to  their 
headlong  speed.  Accordingly,  very  hard  riding,  laughter, 
shouts,  and  merry  jokes,  constitute  the  order  of  the  first  day. 
Then  fatigue  and  disappointment  have  somewhat  taken  the 
wire-edge  off,  and  the  second  is  more  subdued,  but  still  earnest 
and  impetuous. 

But  the  third  day  of  suspense  is  almost  uniformly  too  much 
for  such  volatile  temperaments  to  get  through  with  on  an 
uncertainty.  They  become  impatient,  listless,  and  careless 
to  an  unmanageable  degree,  and  unless  some  trace  of  the 


THE   FIGHT   OF   THE   PINTO   TRACE.  293 

enemy  be  found  to  enliven  them,  the  pursuit  had  as  well  be 
given  up. 

So  Hays  found  it  to  be,  on  the  third  evening  of  this  pur 
suit.  We  had  failed  again  to  cross  the  trail  of  the  Indians, 
as  he  had  calculated ;  the  first  blush  of  excited  animal  spirits 
had  been  dissipated  in  the  weariness  consequent  upon  ex 
cessive  hard  riding.  The  men  had  laughed  at  each  other's 
old  jokes  in  the  jolly  abandon  of  the  start,  but  now  the 
attempted  repetition  of  them  was  a  serious  matter,  and  the 
laughter  such  attempts  called  forth  any  thing  but  jocose. 

As  evening  closed  in,  there  was  an  anxious  consultation 
held  by  Hays  with  the  most  spirited  and  experienced  of  our 
Rangers,  while  we  still  continued  slowly  to  advance  in  care 
less,  straggling  order.  Nothing  satisfactory  was  elicited 
except  the  mutual  conclusion  that  unless  we  found  some 
traces  of  the  Indians  early  in  the  day  to-morrow,  it  would  be 
as  well  for  us  to  give  up  in  despair. 

We  felt  assured  that  we  had  come  too  fast  for  them  to 
have  passed  up  the  valley  of  the  Guadaloupe,  without  our 
crossing  their  trail  soon,  if  they  were  ahead.  If  we  were 
ahead  of  them,  the  best  thing  we  could  possibly  do  would  be 
to  wait  for  them  at  a  place  some  distance  farther  up,  where 
the  valley  branched  in  several  directions.  Hays  had  been 
quite  certain  that  they  would  attempt  to  reach  the  mountains 
by  this  route,  because  it  was  not  only  the  most  direct,  but 
t*he  most  practicable. 

On  this  route  they  were  sure  of  firm,  open  ground  to  run 
upon — of  good  grazing  and  plenty  of  water.  These  were 
advantages  which  our  astute  captain  felt  assured  they  would 
and  could  not  overlook  in  a  retreat.  Indeed  they  had  scarcely 
ever  been  known  to  fail  of  selecting  this  valley  to  get  out  by, 
when  they  had  come  in  upon  the  settlements  north  of  Bahai. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  day  we  had  found  ourselves 
surrounded  by  quite  novel  and  peculiar  features  of  scenery. 

Although  the  ground  was  tolerably  level  in  the  valley,  yet  in 
Z2 


294  THE    FIGHT    OF   THE    PINTO   TRACE. 

the  early  part  of  the  day  we  could  easily  perceive  a  low, 
broken  and  irregular  line  of  hills  undulating  the  horizon  on 
either  side. 

Gradually  with  the  evening  these  distant  lines  closed  in, 
and  as  the  shadows  lengthened  in  the  setting  sun,  they  almost 
lay  across  the  valley.  Now  that  we  were  near  them,  we 
could  perceive  that  these  hills  were  quite  unlike  any  others 
we  ha.d  seen ;  for  instead  of  occurring  in  a  chain,  with  some 
thing  like  regularity,  they  were  isolated,  and  appeared  as  if 
they  had  been  sown  broadcast  over  the  plain.  What  had 
seemed  to  us  in  the  distance  to  be  a  line  of  hills,  was  only 
the  nearer  edge  of  this  singular  formation. 

We  rode  in  among  them,  and  it  reminded  me  most  of  a 
huge  forest,  the  mighty  tops  of  which  had  been  torn  off  by 
the  wrench  of  a  whirlwind.  They  stood  at  irregular  dis 
tances  apart,  and  each  hill  or  mound  was  of  a  shape  peculiar 
to  itself,  and  of  a  size  for  which  none  of  its  neighbours  were 
even  indirectly  accountable,  except  in  contrast.  The  river 
here  broke  up  into  a  number  of  smaller  head-streams,  which 
wound  away  by  the  feet  of  these  curious  hills,  and  we  could 
look  up  their  several  valleys  from  nearly  the  same  point  of 
view.  A  heavy  forest  of  several  miles  in  extent  skirted  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  largest  of  these  streams.  It  was  at 
once  resolved  that  we  should  cross  and  camp  in  the  forest — 
or  on  the  edge  of  it,  rather — for  the  night.  We  passed 
around  a  steep  and  long-backed  hill,  which  stood  along  the 
water's  edge  on  this  side;  a  little  beyond  it  we  found  a 
buffulo-crossing,  which  we  knew  to  be  always  safe.  We 
crossed,  and,  following  up  the  buffalo-trace  through  a  sort  of 
meadow-break,  or  opening  in  the  forest,  we  found  that  in  a 
few  hundred  yards  it  intersected  another  very  wide  and  deep 
trace,  which  led  off  up  the  valley  towards  the  north-west, 
through  a  continuation  of  this  prairie  opening  in  the  forest. 

Hays  and  the  spies  examined  this  trace  very  carefully  for 
any  signs  of  the  Indians  having  passed,  but  none  were  appa- 


THE   FIGHT   OF   THE   PINTO   TRACE.  295 

rent.  He  said  this  was  the  Pinto  Trace,  and  that  as  it  was 
greatly  trampled  by  buffalo,  he  expected  that  the  Indians 
would  endeavour  to  lose  their  trail  on  its  hard  and  confused 
surface.  But  the  sharpest  eyes  of  our  trailers  could  discover 
nothing  which  indicated  that  they  had  passed. 

It  was,  therefore,  concluded  that  we  must  be  ahead  of 
them,  or  else  have  missed  them  entirely.  We  found  a  small 
thread-like  stream  running  through  this  meadow,  or  strip  of 
prairie,  beside  which  we  camped,  just  under  the  shadow  of 
the  forest. 

We  had  by  this  time  given  up  all  hopes  of  finding  the  In 
dians,  and  accordingly  all  the  ordinary  precautions  of  the 
scout  were  neglected.  We  turned  our  horses  on  the  luxuriant 
meadow  to  graze  their  fill,  while  we  in  the  mean  time  were 
not  disposed  to  be  behind  them  in  gratifying  our  appetites, 
which  had  for  three  days  been  stinted  upon  jerked  beef, 
eaten  without  cooking,  since  the  smoke  of  a  fire  is  considered 
quite  too  significant  a  telegraph  to  be  carelessly  used  upon 
the  prairies  while  in  pursuit  of  an  enemy,  or  while  in  his 
possible  neighbourhood. 

We  determined  to  have  a  full  meal  this  night,  in  amends, 
and  thought  of  or  cared  for  nothing  else  but  how  to  secure 
what  we  desired.  The  stringent  requisitions  of  our  early 
march  were  laughed  at  now,  and  recklessly  contrasted  with 
the  devil-may-care  method — or  rather  want  of  method — in 
our  proceedings. 

We  built  an  enormous  fire,  while  the  most  skilful  hunters 
scattered  in  every  direction  to  search  for  game.  They  came 
straggling  in  until  some  time  after  dark,  and  brought  with 
them  quite  a  sufficient  complement  of  game  to  satisfy  even 
our  cravings.  The  greater  part  of  a  fat  buck  and  of  a  young 
bear  were  basted  before  the  blazing  fire,  while  several  wild- 
geese,  and  a  turkey  or  two,  gave  variety  to  our  feast. 

Before  the  feast  was  over,  a  belated  hunter  came  in,  who 
announced  that  he  had  discovered  a  bee-tree,  not  far  from 


296  THE   FIGHI   OF   THE   PINTO   TRACE. 

the  camp,  and  it  was  determined  by  a  party  of  us  that  wo 
would  go  and  cut  it  down,  the  first  thing  in  the  morning,  and 
get  the  honey  in  time  for  breakfast,  to  eat  with  the  remainder 
of  our  bear-steaks.  The  announcement  and  the  proposition 
were  received  with  great  glee  by  the  Rangers ;  for  there  is  no 
higher  luxury  known  to  frontier  life  than  bear-steaks  and 
wild  honey. 

After  indulging  their  appetites  to  the  full,  with  the  inten 
tion  of  waiting  for  the  more  delicate  feast  promised  in  the 
morning,  one  after  another  stretched  himself  upon  his  blan 
ket  and  dropped  off  to  sleep. 

Nothing  especial  occurred  during  the  night,  and  with  the 
earliest  morning  a  party  of  five  or  six  of  us  were  up  and 
equipping  ourselves  for  taking  the  bee-tree.  We  took  our 
arms,  of  course,  but,  as  well,  carried  with  us  a  hatchet  and 
several  coils  of  lariat,  which  were  to  answer  for  ropes,  should 
they  be  needed.  We  left  our  horses  behind.  Sam  Walker 

and  G went  with  us  on  horseback,  to  keep  a  look-out  for 

possibilities  !  Walker,  who  has  since  made  himself  so  illus 
trious  by  his  extraordinary  feats  in  the  opening  of  the  war 
with  Mexico,  and  whose  renowned  death,  as  a  Captain  of  the 
Rifles,  thrilled  the  country  lately  to  its  heart's  core,  was 
then  a  subordinate  Ranger,  like  the  rest  of  us,  and  under  the 
command  of  Hays. 

G ,  too,  was  a  gallant  fellow,  distinguished  for  his 

skill  in  trailing — he  had,  since  we  set  out,  been  acting  as  the 
associate  of  Walker  in  spying.  We  proceeded  about  a  half 
mile  through  the  forest  to  the  bee-tree,  which  we  found  to  be 
barely  in  sight  of  the  long -backed  hill  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  and  around  the  end  of  which  we  had  been  com 
pelled  to  turn  before  we  found  the  crossing.  Our  spies  went 
on  to  reconnoitre,  while  we  proceeded  to  attack  the  bee-tree. 

It  was  a  very  large  post-oak ;  and  we  soon  perceived  that 
the  bees  had  hived  in  a  limb  of  great  size,  the  hollow  en 
trance  to  which  was  some  ten  feet  out  from  the  main  branch. 


THE   FIGHT   OF  THE   PINTO   TRACE.  297 

The  tree  was  too  thick  through  to  be  cut  down  in  any  rea- 
Bonable  time,  and  the  readiest  expedient  seemed  to  be  that  it 
should  be  climbed  by  some  one  who  should  cut  off  the  limb 
from  the  trunk. 

No  one  appeared  to  be  inclined  to  undertake  this  opera 
tion  ;  for  climbing  trees,  however  pleasant  an  amusement  it 
may  be  to  us  as  boys,  is  never  particularly  agreeable  to  men. 
So  general  was  this  disinclination,  that  our  designs  upon  the 
beehive  seemed  to  be  in  a  fair  way  to  be  relinquished  utterly, 
when  one  of  the  men  who  had  lately  joined  us,  and  who  was 
a  big,  fat,  and  clumsy  greenhorn,  laughed  out  with  a  sort  of 
wheezing  chuckle,  and  said  that  we  were  "  pretty  fellows,  not 
to  be  able  to  climb  sich  a  tree  as  that." 

The  unfortunate  sucker !  no  one  had  thought  of  him  be 
fore  ;  but  now,  so  soon  as  he  had  spoken  and  attracted  atten 
tion  to  himself,  the  determination  to  victimize  him  flashed 
simultaneously  upon  the  minds  of  all,  and  we  accordingly  be 
set  him.  He  had  made  himself  ridiculous,  ever  since  he 
joined  us,  by  boasting,  after  the  most  loud-mouthed  and  bom 
bastic  fashion,  of  his  surprising  feats  in  every  possible  de 
partment  of  human  prowess.  But  the  deeds  of  valour  which 
he  described,  and  of  which  he  was  the  modest  hero,  were  al 
ways  only  just  surpassed  by  the  incomprehensible  feats  of 
personal  agility  which  accompanied  them — incomprehensible 
when  we  looked  upon  the  fat,  unwielding  personalities  of  the 
panting  boaster. 

Every  one  now  slyly  assailed  him  upon  the  weak  side — 
his  stupendous  vanity;  and  between  us  we  finally  coaxed, 
wheedled,  flattered,  or  bullied  poor  Lynn  into  undertaking 
the  very  thing,  of  all  others,  he  was  precisely  most  unfitted 
for  accomplishing. 

The  tree  was  not  very  difficult  to  climb  after  the  first  limbs 
had  been  reached,  and  we  were  all  emulously  officious  to 
boust  the  heavy  fellow  upon  our  shoulders,  until  he  reached 
vhe  lower  limbs  and  got  a  footing.  Then  we  threw  up  the 


298  THE   FIGHT   OP  THE   PINTO   TKACE. 

coil  of  a  lariat  to  him,  that  he  might  at  his  leisure  draw  after 
him  the  hatchet  which  we  attached  to  the  other  end. 

Now  that  he  was  fairly  started  on  his  way  up,  we  threw 
ourselves  upon  the  earth  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  and  rolled 
over,  and  with  bursts  and  roars  of  unrestrained  laughter,  as 
we  watched  his  awkward  and  timid  ascent.  Now  we  would 
applaud  him  with  cheers  for  some  suspiciously  insignificant 
step  in  his  upward  progress — then  we  would  taunt  him  when 
he  faltered  to  take  breath,  until  the  poor  fellow  seemed  to  be 
scarcely  sure  whether  he  were  not  performing  some  unheard 
of  labour,  worthy  to  enlist  the  applause  and  enthusiasm  of  as 
sembled  nations.  Indeed,  his  round  face  glowed  down  upon 
us  in  the  pauses  of  his  ascent,  like  the  red  disc  of  the  harvest 
moon  just  rising,  and  its  general  expression  of  doubt,  triumph, 
and  vexation  was  so  blended  with  his  sweaty  pantings,  that 
we  fairly  roared  again  with  laughter  whenever  this  occurred. 

At  last,  however,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  limb,  and 
according  to  our  directions,  proceeded  to  tie  one  end  of  the 
lariat  about  it,  as  far  out  as  he  could  reach,  and  then  passing 
the  other  over  a  smaller  limb,  dropped  the  lariat  down  to  us, 
that  we  might  ease  the  limb  to  the  ground,  when  he  had 
severed  it  from  the  trunk.  This  he  now  proceeded  to  do, 
and  at  last  succeeded  in  cutting  it  through. 

As  it  swung  off,  and  we  were  easing  it  down  by  the  lariat, 
out  came  the  whole  swarm  of  bees,  and  attacked  the  poor  fel 
low  furiously.  He  had  cut  it  too  far  out,  and  blundered  into 
the  hollow. 

He  now  steadied  himself  as  best  he  could,  and  was  fighting 
blindly  with  both  hands  to  protect  his  face,  and  in  his  agony 
had  even  forgot  to  cry  out,  while  we  were  convulsed  and 
rocking  with  cruel  laughter  below,  when  suddenly  Walker 
and  G shouted,  "  Indians  !  Indians  !" 

This  ominous  cry  was  sufficient  to  sober  us  in  a  hurry.  We 
let  gc  the  lariat,  and  dropped  our  coveted  honey  very  sud 
denly;  for  though  we  could  not  see  the  Indians,  we  knew  too 


THE   FIGHT   OF  THE   PINTO   TRACE.  299 

well  that  no  false  alarm  could  come  through  such  men  aa  oar 
spies  were. 

The  alarm  caused  something  of  a  panic;  for  the  contract 
was  too  broad  between  our  reckless  hilarity  and  the  imma- 
diate  danger  threatened. 

Some  of  the  men  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  took  up  the  cry, 
"Indians!"  Poor  Lynn,  who  was  already  half-maddened 
and  blinded  by  the  bee-stings,  heard  it,  and  gave  a  yell  of 
such  agonized,  despairing  terror  as  would  have  stampeded  a 
drove  of  broken-down  pack-mules. 

The  pain  of  the  bee-stings  seemed  to  be  forgotten  in  a 
moment,  and  he  dropped  himself,  with  the  agility  of  a  mon 
key,  from  the  limb  on  which  he  stood.  He  was  about  forty 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  taking  every  thing  together,  it  was 
no  special  wonder  that  he  miscalculated  his  momentum  some 
what. 

Although  we  were  all  thoroughly  startled  by  the  alarm, 
yet  I  do  not  think  two  men  budged  while  we  watched  the 
ludicrous  descent  of  our  frightened  victim.  He  had  clearly 
forgotten  all  about  the  bees,  and  was  dropping  hastily  from 
limb  to  limb,  with  a  constantly  increasing  momentum,  until 
at  last,  when  something  like  twenty  feet  from  the  ground,  he 
let  go  all  holds,  and  came  crushing  down,  with  the  agonizing 
cry,  as  he  thumped  against  it  his  helpless,  mushy  form, — 
«  0  J— s  !— them  Indians  !  Wait,  boys  !" 

But  we  did  not  choose  to  wait  now,  and  with  one  long 
burst  of  laughter,  which  sent  us  staggering  off,  we  hurried 
back  to  the  camp.  We  saw  that  Lynn  had  no  bones  or  limbs 
broken,  and  he  was  certainly  of  as  much  use  as  he  lay  there 
grunting  and  frightened  at  the  foot  of  that  tree,  as  he  could 
be  under  any  other  possible  condition  of  things ;  so  we  left 
him  to  pluck  the  bee-stings  out  of  his  face,  and  dream  of  new 
prodigies  of  individual  valour. 

We  found  G already  in  camp  with  the  news,  and 

nearly  all  the  horses  caught  up,  in  readiness.  While  we 


300  THE   FIGHT   OF   THE   PINTO   TRACE. 

were  mounting,  G returned  to  join  Walker,  and  we  fol 
lowed  in  the  shortest  possible  time. 

We  passed  out  of  the  forest  along  the  buffalo  trail,  and  as 
we  came  out  of  the  narrow  meadow,  in  sight  of  the  crossing 

we  had  used,  we  saw  Walker  and  G already  mounting 

the  other  bank  of  the  river.  Our  course  was  thus  indicated, 
though  we  as  yet  saw  no  enemy. 

We  hurried  on,  and  when  we  reached  the  ford  we  saw 
them.  They  were  slowly  and  deliberately  ascending  the 
steep  and  long-backed  hill  of  which  I  have  spoken,  while  our 
two  spies  rode  slowly  out  into  the  plain  they  had  left,  and 
seemed  to  be  looking  up  curiously  after  them. 

We  were  urging  on  in  the  mean  time ;  for  though  we  were 
in  sight,  we  were  still  a  considerable  distance  off.  It  was  a 
large  body  of  warriors ! — at  least  it  seemed  so  to  us,  as  we 
saw  them  slowly  mounting  the  steep  hill  in  a  long  compact 
line,  from  which  the  gaudy  feathers  flaunted  bravely  from 
their  heads  and  from  the  tops  of  their  long  lance-handles. 

The  two  spies  followed  them  slowly  in  advance  of  us. 
When  we  reached  the  ford,  they  had  mounted  to  the  crest  of 
the  hill,  and  clustering  along  its  brow,  had  begun  to  make 
insulting  and  defying  gestures  to  us.  But  these  gestures 

seemed  to  be  particularly  addressed  to  Walker  and  G , 

who  were  far  in  advance  of  us,  and  in  full  view  of  them, 
while  we  were  concealed  somewhat  in  crossing  the  river. 

Their  position  was  so  favourable,  and  their  numbers  so  im 
mensely  superior,  that  Hays,  reckless  and  daring  as  he  was, 
hesitated  about  charging  upon  them.  Indeed,  he  would  and 
could  never  have  been  rash  enough  to  make  deliberately  an 
up-hill  onset  upon  four  or  five  times  his  number;  but  the 
thing  was  precipitated.  There  was  among  them  a  person 
who  spoke  imperfect  English,  and  he  roared  out  insulting 

taunts  to  Walker  and  G ,  defying  them  to  come  on,  with 

the  most  filthy  and  opprobrious  epithets. 

These  fiery  and  chivalric  men  had  never  been  in  the  habit 


THE   FIGHT   OF   THE   PINTO   TRACE.  301 

of  counting  noses  when  they  were  insulted — and  accordingly, 
without  turning  their  heads  to  see  whether  we  were  at  hand 
or  not,  they  urged  their  horses  alone  up  the  hill  in  the  face 
of  nearly  a  hundred  insolent  savages. 

So  soon  as  we  saw  this  movement,  all  hesitation — which  at 
any  rate  had  been  but  momentary — was  gone,  and  we  urged 
our  horses  up  the  steeps  at  their  best  speed.  It  was  a  rough 
and  precipitous  ascent,  and  with  all  our  eagerness,  we  made 
slow  work  of  it.  We  saw  the  gallant  and  reckless  Walker 
break  into  their  insolent  front,  and  a  warrior  tumble  as  his 
pistol  went  off.  The  throng  fell  back  before  him  as  he  gave 

another  shot  from  his  revolver,  and  then  G closed  in 

with  quick  successive  shots  from  his  deadly  repeater. 

But  though  the  panic  might  be  for  an  instant,  yet  it  was 
too  much  to  suppose  that  two  men,  even  with  so  much  auda 
city,  backed  even  by  repeaters,  could  rout  a  force  of  eighty 
insolent  and  defying  warriors. 

We  saw  them  close  about  our  rash  and  beloved  comrades. 
We  urged  our  horses  like  madmen  up  the  steep.  We  saw 
Walker  go  down,  and  with  a  frantic  cry — which  was  most 
like  the  ferocious  wail  of  a  pantheress  for  her  young — we 
burst  into  the  fray  with  drawn  revolvers. 

They  made  terrible  work,  and  although  the  Indians  fought 
like  men  possessed  to  maintain  their  vantage  ground,  we 
drove  them  back  along  the  ridge  with  ruthless  slaughter. 
They  could  not  stand  before  our  murderous  revolvers. 

I  remember,  as  it  were  yesterday,  seeing,  as  we  swept  past, 
poor  Walker  lying  on  his  face  with  a  lance  through  him ! 
I  considered  him  as  done  for,  and  never  expected  to  see  him 

on  his  feet  again.  Poor  G was  writhing  near  him,  with 

a  dozen  lance-wounds.  The  Indians  retreated  before  our 
furious  charge,  and,  leaving  their  dead  behind,  they  started 
off  in  the  most  extraordinary  panic  along  the  ridge  of  the 
hill. 

Before  long  they  rallied,  and  met  us  again  in  full  shock. 
2A 


302  THE   FIGHT   OP  THE   PINTO   TRACE. 

The  collision  lasted  only  for  a  moment,  when  they  broke 
again,  leaving  their  dead  as  before.  Thus  this  terrible  fight 
continued  for  nearly  six  miles — they  pausing  every  now  and 
then  to  fight  a  moment,  and  then  Breaking  up  before  our 
resistless  charge,  to  fly  a  few  miles  farther  and  make  a  new 
stand,  to  be  routed  as  before.  We  drew  up  at  last,  abso 
lutely  weary  of  slaughter,  and  permitted  them  to  escape  into 
some  timber,  with  more  than  one-half  their  whole  number 
killed  or  wounded. 

This  was  the  most  bloody  and  ferocious  fight  which  ever 
occurred  between  our  race  and  the  Camanches.  We  were 
about  fourteen  men  to  eighty  stout  and  well-armed  warriors. 
We  routed  them  from  their  chosen  position  on  the  hill,  and 
with  the  loss  of  three  men  and  four  wounded,  literally  cut 
them  to  pieces — killing  nearly  half  of  their  whole  number. 
But  for  our  revolvers,  the  attack  would  never  have  been 
made ;  and  had  it  been,  we  should  only  have  been  awfully 
whipped. 

When  we  returned  to  the  camp,  we  found  that  Walker, 
whom  we  had  supposed  to  be  slain,  had  drawn  the  lance  out, 
which  had  been  driven  into  him  from  behind,  and  crawled 
down  to  the  water  to  drink.  It  had  missed  the  vitals,  and 
he  lived  to  render  his  name  illustrious  and  die  at  last  right 
gloriously ! 

G was  stone  dead,  with  fatal  wounds  enough  on  his 

body  to  have  killed  half  our  whole  number.  We  buried  him 
decently ;  and,  on  the  examination  of  the  papers  on  his  person 
by  Hays,  in  the  presence  of  us  all,  there  came  to  light  a 
small  parchment,  which  was  no  sooner  looked  at  by  Hays, 
than  he  hastened  to  conceal  it  in  his  bosom,  turning  slightly 
pale  as  he  glanced  eagerly  around  at  our  faces.  It  was  too 
late !  The  signature  was  in  bold,  large  letters,  and  many  of 
us  saw  it — it  was  "  Regulus!"  Not  a  word  was  spoken. 

As  for  the  man  of  the  bee-tree,  we  found  him  with  his  eyes 
BO  bunged  that  he  was  never  able  to  see  double  any  more. 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 


TALES  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  BOEDER. 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Six  months  have  elapsed.  We  have  seen  Frank  Carter,  the 
vague  dreamer,  the  boyish  enthusiast,  and  haughty  Quixote 
of  the  Ideal,  dragged  down,  almost  from  the  very  embraces 
of  the  Dulcinea  of  his  wilderness-errantry,  and  choked  into 
obliviousness  by  the  lasso  of  a  dirty  Indian  tightened  about 
his  throat. 

Ah,  what  a  fall !  Poor  Frank !  Only  six  months  since, 
what  an  heroic  ascetic  thou  wast,  in  thy  young  champion 
ship  ! 

The  allurements  of  women,  wealth,  position, — every  thing, 
indeed,  that  the  cities  of  civilization  had  to  offer  of  excite 
ment  and  bewildering  enchantment  to  the  senses  of  fire- 
hearted  youth, — had  been  passed  through  calmly,  and  he  had 
come  forth  from  all  unscathed. 

But  the  wilderness ! — the  weird  and  shadow-peopled  wil 
derness  ! — alas  !  that  Frank  Carter  ever  should  have  ven 
tured  to  penetrate  those  haunted  depths. 

Alas !  alas !  for  the  haunted  wilderness.  Ho !  for  the 
cities  of  men  again  !  We  are  back  in  New  York  city ! 

Facing  St.  John's  Square,  on  the  east  side,  stands  a  large, 
2A2  20  305 


306          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

plain  brick  building,  the  only  peculiarity  of  the  external  of 
which  is  that  it  is  somewhat  taller  than  the  other  residences 
of  the  block. 

Lately,  this  building  had  seemed  to  be  occupied  in  a  man 
ner  so  peculiar,  as  to  attract  a  great  deal  of  attention  to  it 
in  the  neighbourhood,  which  was  a  remarkably  quiet  and 
staid  one. 

At  all  hours,  from  about  noon  until  three  or  four  in  the 
morning,  well-dressed  men — principally  young  men — were  to 
be  seen  apparently  making  calls. 

The  popularity  of  this  house  attracted  first  curiosity,  and 
then  suspicion.  The  drowsy  neighbours  thought  it  could  be 
for  no  good  that  their  rest  was  so  broken  in  upon  at  all  hours 
by  the  clattering  hoofs  of  reckless  riders,  dashing  up  to  the 
door ;  particularly  as  these  sounds  were  not  unfrequeiitly  ac 
companied  bv  shouts  of  gay  laughter  when  the  parties  came 
forth  late. 

Few  vehicles  of  any  kind  came ;  but  at  least  one,  and  often 
four  or  five,  and  sometimes  more  saddle-horses  of  the  finest 
blood  and  action  usually  stood  before  the  door,  pawing  the 
pavement  impatiently,  under  the  charge  of  several  negro 
grooms,  who  seemed  to  belong  to  the  establishment. 

The  neighbours  had  in  vain  questioned  the  servants,  all  of 
whom  were  negroes  or  mulattoes.  What  follows  would  be 
about  all  the  satisfaction  they  could  obtain  in  answer  to  their 
inquiries,  beginning — 

"Whose  house  is  that?" 

"  Dat's  mas«a's  house,  to  be  sure  !" 

"  Who  is  your  4  massa,'  as  you  call  him  ?" 

"  Massa  is  a  gemman  !" 

"Where's  he  from?" 

"  He  a'n't  no  red-mouph  Yankee — dat's  sartain  !" 

"  Are  you  all  his  slaves  ?" 

"We  waits  on  him!" 

"  Where  were  you  born  ?" 


BACK   FROM   THE   WILDERNESS.  307 

"  Not  in  dis  city,  tank  de  Lord !" 

"  Where  then  were  you  born  ?" 

"  Whar  Aunt  Dinah  live  !" 

"  What's  your  master's  name,  then  ?" 

"  Massa's  friends  know  he  name  !" 

"What  does  he  do?" 

"  Minds  he's  own  business !  Here,  Pomp,  yonder  comes 
anudder  gemman !  Be  spry,  here,  you  nigger,  to  hold  dat 
horse !" 

And  the  baffled  meddler  would  be  obliged  to  sneak  away 
as  wise  as  he  came,  for  his  pains. 

About  eleven  o'clock  of  a  still  winter  evening,  with  a  bril 
liantly  clear  moonlight,  quite  a  cluster  of  horses  stood  before 
the  door  of  this  house.  All  at  once  the  darkies  opened  their 
eyes  and  rolled  up  the  whites  in  astonishment,  as  a  light 
cabriolet  whirled  round  the  nearest  corner  at  a  great  pace, 
and  dashed  headlong  into  the  midst  of  the  group  they  were 
in  charge  of,  causing  great  confusion  and  affright. 

Before  they  had  time  to  think  or  speak,  the  tall  slim  form 
of  the  driver,  which  was  enveloped  in  a  long  cloak,  had 
bounded  to  the  pavement,  and  throwing  the  reins  towards 
one  of  the  grooms,  sprang  hastily  up  the  steps. 

uGor  A'mighty,  but  dat  gemman  in  a  hurry!  Whew!" 
whistled  Pompey,  as  he  stooped  to  catch  up  the  reins. 

But  great  as  the  hurry  of  the  gentleman  seemed  to  have 
been,  he  paused  for  a  moment  at  the  door,  as  if  to  compose 
himself,  and  then  turning  the  latch,  entered  without  ringing 
the  bell.  A  negro  servant  stood  in  the  hall.  He  sprang 
forward  with  a  low  bow. 

"  Berry  fine  evening,  Massa  Tinkink.  Me  take  de  cloak, 
massa." 

"  There,  my  dark-browed  thunderer,"  said  the  gentleman, 
dismantling  himself  with  great  deliberation,  and  revealing 
a  lithe,  elegant  figure,  and  dark,  shining,  restless  eyes. 


308  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

''Jupiter,  I  suppose  your  master  has  more  company  than 
usual,  to-night  ?" 

"  Yes,  massa ;  dar  is  some  more  gemman  dan  ob  usual,  on 
dis  night." 

"  They  are  at  supper  ?" 

"Yes,  massa  !" 

"Show  me  in!" 

"Dis  way,  massa !" 

Jupiter  threw  open  the  door  of  the  parlour,  and,  with  a 
deep  salaam,  announced — 

"Massa  Tinkink!" 

The  clinking  din  and  joyous  clamour  of  a  convivial  supper 
burst  upon  his  ears,  as  the  door  flew  open,  while  it  was  almost 
impossible,  between  the  sudden  glare  of  lights  and  the  brood 
ing  haze  of  cigar-smoke,  to  distinguish  faces  at  all,  for  the 
moment. 

There  was  a  momentary  lull,  and  a  voice  from  the  fog  said — 

"  Jupiter,  what  sort  of  a  name  is  that  you  have  given  my 
friend  ?  Tynenck  !  Tyn-enck  is  the  name,  next  time,  you 
thick-tongued  rascal ! — not  Tinker,  or  any  other  such  plebeian 
cognomen." 

The  speaker  sits  at  the  foot  of  the  table ;  and,  as  he  rises 
to  greet  the  new  comer,  we  cannot  fail  to  recognise  the  face 
of  our  friend,  Frank  Carter,  though  he  is  looking  ten  years 
older,  with  sunken  cheeks,  sharpened  features,  and  eyes  that 
gleam  with  an  unnatural  fire  !  He  stretches  out  a  thin,  bony 
hand — 

"  Come  !  Tynenck  ;  I  have  kept  a  seat  for  you.  You  see, 
I  have  not  been  able  to  drill  that  fellow  of  mine  into  the 
pronunciation  of  that  Gotham-honoured  name  of  yours.  Sit 
down  when  you  get  ready — but  first  order  what  you  will  have ; 
for  you  perceive  that  we  have  the  start  of  you,  and  have  got 
somewhat  along  into  the  night." 

"  Resume  your  seat,  Carter ;  I  shall  take  care  of  myself!" 
and  he  passed  down  the  table,  exchanging  greetings.  Wheu 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  309 

his  eye  met  that  of  the  person  seated  at  the  head,  there  was 
a  scarcely  perceptible  start,  a  significant  interchange  of 
glances,  and  Tynenck  turned  suddenly,  and  said — 

"  Carter,  I  did  not  observe,  before,  that  you  had  resigned 
your  seat  as  host.  Hope  you  are  not  reduced  to  dodge  the 
hammer  already  ?  You  should  have  let  me  know,  before  it 
came  to  this  extremity.  I  would  have  taken  your  place 
myself." 

"  Not  if  you  mean  the  presiding  hammer !  I  have  al 
ready  so  much  honoured  myself,  in  the  resignation  thereof  to 
'mine  ancient  comrade  and  tried'  Newnon  Clenny,  to  whom 
I  beg  to  introduce  you," — the  gentlemen  bowed  formally, — 
"  that  I  thought  there  was  no  other  honour  left  me,  in  that 
line.  But  your  offer  to  take  my  place  overwhelmed  me, 
Tynenck.  Though  my  place  is  now  that  of  a  guest  to  my 
friend,  I  hope  you  will  feel  no  hesitation  in  sharing  it  with 
me.  By  the  way" — and  he  looked  sharply  from  one  face  to 
the  other — "my  friend  Newnon  is  an  old  resident  of  New 
York !  I  should  have  thought  it  probable  that  you  two 
would  have  met." 

"Never  as  personal  acquaintances,  though  I  have  long 
recognised  Mr.  Clenny  by  sight  and  reputation,  and  desired 
to  know  him." 

"  Curious !"  said  the  clear,  shrill,  commanding  voice  of 
Clenny.  "  We  have  almost  jostled  each  other  a  thousand 
times,  with  a  mutual  recognition  and  desire  of  acquaintance, 
and  yet  the  accident  of  '  pray  know  my  friend'  had  never  yet 
occurred,  before !  But  better  late  than  never.  Have  you 
ordered  any  thing,  Mr.  Tynenck?" 

"Yes;  some  oysters  on  the  shell.  I  have  not  heard  of 
you,  in  the  city,  for  some  years  past,  Mr.  Clenny  ?" 

"No;  my  friend  Carter  can  best  account  for  my  absence. 
I  have  been  with  him  adventuring,  at  the  South- West." 

"Ah!  here  are  the  oysters!  Some  pale  Sherry  now, 
Sam !"  said  Tynenck,  as  he  seated  himself. 


310  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

"  I  say,  Tynenck  !"  said  a  florid-looking  person,  in  a  some 
what  loud  voice,  as  he  leaned  forward  over  the  table,  several 
seats  above,  "what's  the  news  from  the  bridge,  to-night? 
You  always  know." 

"  My  dear  fellow,  how  can  I  know  any  more  than  you  your 
self  know  ?  The  boats  are  not  in  from  Albany;  none  of  the 
expresses  can  arrive  for  several  hours.  Ah  !  these  delicious 
oysters !" 

"  Pshaw  !"  said  a  young  man  from  the  opposite  side  of  the 
table,  and  upon  whose  white,  effeminate  hand  gleamed  a  large 
diamond,  as  he  stretched  it  forth.  "Pass  on  that  cham 
pagne,  Tom !  You  need  be  in  no  hurry  to  hear  from  '  the 
bridge ;'  your  miserable  party  is  already  defunct,  and  I  ex 
pect,  in  my  morning  dream,  to  hear  your  sweet  voices  in 
chorus  with  the  last,  melancholy  shriek  of  that  long  bray  we 

have  been  hearing  from since  the  late  convention. 

Here's  to  the  lungs  of  your  chief  chorister — Tom !" 

The  young  aristocrat  raised  the  foaming  glass  to  his  lips, 
with  a  sneer  upon  them ;  while  Tom  Durfee  flushed  a  yet 
deeper  scarlet,  and,  instead  of  lifting  his  glass,  began  to 
fumble  confusedly  in  his  pockets,  while  he  glanced  furtively 
towards  Tynenck  and  Clenny. 

Tynenck  was  just  taking  a  large  oyster ;  and,  as  he  laid 
down  the  shell,  he  looked  up  archly,  and  said,  with  a  distinct, 
emphatic  intonation — 

"  Mr.  Catesby,  what  is  that  morning  dream  of  your's  worth 
to  you  ?" 

"  Why,  Tynenck,  have  you  turned  plebeian,  too  ?"  The 
young  man  looked  surprised,  but  quietly  proceeded,  after 
laying  down  the  cigar  he  was  about  to  light,  to  draw  forth 
his  pocket-book.  "  It  is  worth  whatever  you  are  disposed  to 
cover,  Mr.  Tynenck !" 

"  I'll  bet  you  five  hundred  that  the  Democratic  candidate 
w  elected!"  said  Tom  Durfee,  eagerly. 

"  Good  !     Friend  Thomas,  you  are  booked  J     I  am  sorry 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  311 

for  you,"  and  Catesby  proceeded  to  make  the  entry  on  a  fly 
leaf. 

"Pshaw!  Tom,  you  must  be  drunk,  or  else  you  are  a 
fool,"  said  one  of  his  neighbours. 

"No;  let  Tom  alone — he'll  win  it,"  said  another,  a  tall 
man,  who  sat  next,  and  whose  hair  was  as  black  as  midnight, 
and  whose  eyes  shone  strangely  out  of  a  saturnine  and 
ghastly  face.  He  leaned  forward  and  whispered,  "  He's  got 
his  cue !  He  knows  what  he  is  about — let  him  alone." 

Frank  heard  this  whisper,  and  marked  the  man. 

"I  have  five  thousand  at  your  service,  Mr.  Catesby,"  said 
Tynenck,  as  he  stooped  to  take  another  oyster. 

"  You  are  up  in  the  figures  to-night,  Tynenck.  You  came 
in  last.  Pray,  how  old  is  your  faith  in  your  candidate  ?" 

The  buzz  around  the  table  was  hushed. 

Tynenck  took  another  oyster,  and  laying  down  the  shell 
deliberately,  he  looked  up  with  an  expression  of  surprise. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  friend  Catesby?  Are  you 
frightened  at  five  thousand  ?  Make  it  a  hundred,  then,  or 
even  fifty,  if  that  will  suit  you  better." 

Catesby  flushed  a  little.  His  suspicions  might  have  been 
correct  enough,  but  the  cool  tact  of  this  man  had  placed  him  in 
a  false  position.  He  had  spoken  from  an  instinctive  impulse 
rather  than  from  judgment.  He  now  saw  that  Tynenck  had 
placed  himself  right,  in  his  answer  to  the  first  question,  with 
regard  to  the  news  from  the  bridge,  in  saying  that  it  was  yet 
impossible  that  any  news  could  have  arrived.  He  had  tact, 
and  made  the  most  of  an  awkward  predicament. 

"  I  will  see  you,"  he  said,  "  and  something  more.  But  a 
man  who  has  just  come  in  from  the  fresh  air  to  a  party  al 
ready  four  hours  gone,  should  not  be  surprised  that  we  show 
wonder  whether  he  has  not  heard  from  '  farthest  Ind'  in  that 
time." 

"Ay!  But  you  will  see  me  and  something  more,"  said 
Tynenck,  with  a  scarcely  perceptible  smile.  "All  that  is 


312  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

right  enough.  I  am  satisfied  with  regard  to  every  thing  ex- 
cept  the  amount  you  are  willing  to  stake  to-night  upon  the 
result  of  this  election." 

"  Do  you  propose  to  bet  on  the  State  of  New  York,  as  will 
be  decided  by  the  news  of  the  morning,  or  on  the  general 
result  ?" 

"  You  may  take  either." 

"  Then  I  will  take  the  result." 

"At  what  figure?" 

"  Any,  from  five  to  ten." 

"Then  let  it  be  ten." 

With  a  slight  increase  of  paleness,  but  a  perfectly  firm 
hand,  Catesby  wrote  out  a  draft  for  the  amount,  while  Ty- 
nenck  did  the  same. 

Tynenck  was  about  to  hand  them  to  Carter,  but  something 
in  his  look  forbade.  He  turned  toward  Clenny  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  then  rising,  handed  him  the  draft.  Catesby  did 
she  same,  and  Clenny  deposited  them  in  his  pocket-book. 

The  roysterers  had  forgotten  their  merriment  for  the  time, 
Awhile  the  formalities  of  this  heavy  bet,  were  settled.  Frank 
Carter  looked  on  with  his  sepulchral,  hollow  eyes,  and  said, 
with  a  quiet  sneer,  which  it  seemed  as  if  he  could  not  con 
trol— 

"  I  congratulate  you,  gentlemen,  upon  the  accession  of  self- 
complacency  the  morning  will  bring  to  the  one  or  the  other 
of  you.  One  will  be  just  ten  thousand  times  better  pleased 
with  himself,  his  principles,  and  his  party.  Happy  man  ! 
Happy  party !  with  such  a  formidable  accession  to  its  suc 
cesses.  Devil  take  the  hindmost !" 

"  Hear  him  !  Hear  him !  Our  host  from  the  South  is 
spiritually  moved  to  sermonize,"  said  Tynenck,  with  a 
laugh. 

"Will  you  take  some  champagne  now,  Mr.  Tynenck?" 

"  Yes.  Those  were  glorious  oysters,  and  the  sherry  seems 
flat  after  them!" 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  313 

Frank  drained  the  long-necked  glass  at  a  draught,  and 
said — 

"A  truce  to  politics — it  is  a  stupid  game  of  knave  to 
fool.  Boy,  place  a  bottle  before  every  man,  and  let  no  time 
be  lost  in  circulation." 

The  order  was  executed  with  a  surprising  promptness,  and 
in  less  than  a  minute  a  bottle  of  champagne  was  placed  be 
fore  each  guest.  The  wires,  with  great  nicety,  had  been  so 
nearly  severed,  that  it  only  required  a  slight  wrench  with  the 
thumb  to  start  the  cork,  and  in  a  moment  they  were  popping  all 
along  the  table,  amid  merry  laughter  and  quaint  witticisms. 

"  I  say,  Carter,  do  you  intend  to  get  us  all  tipsy  again 
to-night,  as  usual  ?" 

"  I  should  feel  that  I  was  doing  a  good  and  disinterested 
service,  Catesby,  to  drink  you  under  the  table ;  for  then,  at 
least,  you  would  be  incapable  of  playing  the  fool  and  betting 
your  fine  fortune  away." 

"  Pray,  Mr.  Ascetic,  how  much  better  use  are  you  making 
of  yours?" 

"  Far  better  !  I  chpose  to  seek  relief  from  the  satieties  in 
convivialities;  but  in  this  I  am  at  least  unselfish.  I  do  not 
ask  men  to  do  or  to  suffer  what  I  am  not  willing  to  share. 
If  they  wake  up  with  a  headache  after  a  night  with  me,  they 
have  at  least  the  consolation  that  I  have  a  headache  too,  and 
am  sharing  with  them  the  wages  of  sin.  But  the  gambler 
who  has  lost,  wakes  with  hatred  in  his  heart — and  the  gambler 
who  has  won,  with  a  pitiless  exultation !" 

"  Pshaw !  Frank,  stop  your  preaching,  and  fill  up  your 
glass  !"  said  Clenny,  jeeringly. 

"Let  him  alone!"  said  Tynenck,  laughing;  "our  friend 
belongs  to  a  common  type  of  fanatic.  He  hugs  his  favourite 
sin  to  his  heart  with  his  left  hand,  and  does  battle  with  the 
sins  of  all  the  world  with  his  right.  He  loves  the  excite 
ment  of  wine  and  rich  feeding,  but  shrinks  from  the  more 
refined  and  intellectual  stimulus  of  gambling." 

2B 


314  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

"Because  it  revolts  my  taste  !" 

"No,"  said  the  dark-haired,  saturnine  man,  with  the 
gleaming  eyes,  whose  whisper  we  have  mentioned  Frank  had 
heard  and  noted.  "No,  sir;  there  is,  perhaps,  a  higher 
reason  for  all  this :  Mr.  Carter  is  too  honourable  to  bet  upon 
a  certainty !" 

"  What  do  you  mean,  sir  ?"  said  Tynenck,  looking  startled. 

"I  mean  what  I  say  !" 

Every  glass  was  arrested  midway,  and  all  the  buzz  around 
the  table  stilled  in  an  instant. 

"  But  what  do  you  mean  to  say  ?"  asked  Tynenck,  blanch 
ing  somewhat,  and  looking  towards  Clenny,  as  if  in  appeal. 
The  brows  of  Clenny  were  contracting,  and  his  eyes  growing 
large  and  shining  underneath. 

"  I  mean  to  say  that  the  heavy  bet  you  made  just  now 
with  Mr.  Catesby  was  made  upon  a  certainty." 

"  How  upon  a  certainty  ?" 

The  man  with  the  shining  eyes  went  on  as  calmly  and  coolly 
as  if  he  were  demonstrating  a  problem  in  mathematics. 

"You  run  a  private  express,  in  connection  with  other 
swindling  gamblers,  and  have  the  newrs  from  the  bridge 
several  hours  ahead  of  the  mails.  You  are  in  a  fair  way  to 
make  a  clean  percentage  to-night,  in  that  bet  of  ten  thou 
sand  you  made  just  now." 

"  Carter,  who  is  this  insolent  fellow  ?"  said  Tynenck,  with 
a  rigid  and  pale,  though  somewhat  flurried  air. 

Carter  answered  coolly,  as  he  sipped  from  his  champagne 
glass — "  That  gentleman  is  my  friend,  or  he  would  not  have 
been  here,  It  is  Captain  Yeiger,  late  of  the  United  States 
navy." 

"Ah !  he  has  been  a  captain,  has  he?  Then  he  ought  to 
know  how  to  take  care  of  himself ;  and  must  be  aware  of  the 
consequences  of  his  vulgar  impudence  to-night." 

"  Captain  Yeiger  has  been  so  long  in  the  habit  of  taking 
care  of  himself,  that  it  has  grown  to  be  quite  an  unconscious 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  315 

thing  with  him,"  said  the  man  with  the  glittering  eyes,  very 
slowly.  "  Captain  Yeiger  can  even  now  afford  a  sort  of  half- 
pay  conscience,  which  impels  him  to  warn  honourable  young 
men,  when  he  finds  them  compromised  to  the  tune  of  ten 
thousand  by  a  cool  and  subtle  swindler." 

The  convivialists  looked  all  aghast,  and,  with  one  accord, 
drew  their  chairs  back  from  the  table. 

"  Pshaw  !  Carter,  this  is  some  low  fanatic,  who  has  imposed 
upon  your  philosophic  tendencies." 

Carter  said  nothing.  But  the  captain  rose  from  his  seat, 
and  deliberately  dashed  his  glass,  wine  and  all,  into  the  face 
of  Tynenck. 

"  Pray,  is  that  a  philosophic  tendency,  sir  ?" 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  bolt  had  fallen  !  The  astounding  shock  of  unexpected 
defeat  had  stunned  into  almost  death-like  stillness  the  warm 
hearts  of  many  thousand  earnest,  chivalric  friends  of  Mr. 
Clay,  in  New  York  city. 

Would  that  so  many  otherwise  faultless  citizens  and  still 
nobler  men  had  not  been  hurried,  amid  the  sanguine  heat 
and  dusty  turmoil  of  that  strife,  into  fatal  compromises  by 
the  gambling  spirit,  and  then,  through  the  breathless  stillness 
of  that  pause,  the  snapping  of  so  many  heart-chords  would 
not  have  been  heard  to  fill  it — twanging  in  a  low,  mournful 
cadence,  as  they  died  away. 

Ah !  that  was  a  terrible  day  to  New  York,  when  the  cer 
tainty  of  Mr.  Clay's  defeat  became  known  !  For  hours  and 
hours,  long  after  the  cool  heads  of  the  party  had  resigned 
themselves  and  given  up  all  for  lost,  the  great  body  of  the 
Whigs  continued  to  struggle  against  conviction.  They  could 


316          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

not  realize  it — they  would  not  realize  it;  they  almost  gasped 
for  breath,  to  shout  till  the  last,  "It  cannot  be  so !" 

But  the  obstinate  refusal  to  be  convinced  could  not  help 
them ;  and  when  those  millions  which  had  been  so  rashly  staked 
upon  the  result,  changed  hands,  then  came  the  realization, 
tangible  and  palpable — crushing  through  brain  and  sense  in 
an  awful  collapse  of  purses  and  patriotism  ! 

It  would  have  been  well  enough  had  these  tremendous 
losses  been  confined  to  the  gamblers  of  the  Whig  party.  But, 
alas !  it  was  chiefly  the  true-hearted,  unsuspecting  members 
of  the  party,  who,  with  an  honourable  enthusiasm,  went  for 
principle,  upon  the  faith  of  a  long-tried  confidence  in  Mr. 
Clay,  that  suffered  deepest,  and  were  plucked  most  bare,  by 
the  wary  sharpers  on  the  other  sides. 

These  were  mostly  men  of  character,  substance,  and  posi 
tion,  who,  whatever  caution  they  might  exhibit  towards  an 
opponent,  were  too  frank  and  just  to  themselves  to  imagine 
such  a  crime  as  treason  in  the  camp.  They  would  never 
dream — when  betting  on  a  certain  result  on  the  strength  of 
hints  from  a  leading  spirit  of  their  party,  who  was  known  to 
be  most  frequently  sure  of  his  ground — that  the  very  sums 
they  lost  to  seeming  opponents,  would  go  into  the  pockets  of 
their  astute  adviser. 

Still  less  could  they  dream  that  the  heavy  sum,  by  staking 
which  this  said  oily  adviser  had  demonstrated  substantially 
to  them  his  own  faith  with  regard  to  the  question  at  issue, 
was  in  no  danger  of  ever  leaving  his  note-book — let  what 
might  turn  up ! 

That  in  a  word,  it  was  a  mere  stool-pigeon  operation — 
the  pluckings  from  which  were  shared  between  their  distin 
guished  Whig  friend  and  his  perhaps  equally  distinguished 
Democratic  friend,  in  a  cool,  private  settlement  afterward. 

Plucker  and  Pluckee  would  meet  in  a  few  hours  to  ex 
change  condolences,  and  Pluckee  would  be  so  melted  by  the 
ugubrious  melancholy  expressed  upon  the  hopeless  face  of 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  317 

his  friend  Plucker,  that  his  honest,  sympathetic  heart  could 
not  but  be  moved  by  the  remembrance  of  old  friendships, 
and,  if  not  ruined  already,  the  pathetic  interview  would  pro 
bably  be  concluded  by  an  offer  on  his  part  of  a  loan  to  assist 
the  impudent  swindler  in  redeeming  his  position. 

So  the  game  went.  Perhaps  never  before  in  the  history 
of  our  somewhat  remarkable  country  did  so  large  a  body  of 
men  pay  such  heavy  penalties  for  the  misfortune  of  being 
honest,  as  on  the  issue  of  this  extraordinary  election. 

It  was  like  to  prove  a  fatal  accident  to  poor  Mark  Catesby, 
that  he  enjoyed  the  enviable  reputation  of  being  extremely 
rich.  His  father  inherited  an  immense  fortune  and  proud 
rank  in  England,  and  had,  for  some  unexplained  cause,  come 
over  to  sink  both,  in  a  great  measure,  among  the  pale-haired 
Manhattanese. 

He  was  fiercely  aristocratic,  and  yet  dissipated,  though 
magnificent,  in  his  habits.  He  had  invested,  by  the  merest 
accident,  a  comparatively  small  sum  in  vacant  property 
around  Union  Square. 

He  was  unfortunately  a  victim  of  the  demon  of  chance, 
although  he  scorned  the  common  gambler.  In  his  time,  men 
had  not  outlived  the  chivalric  though  melancholy  delusion 
that  there  was  such  a  thing  as  honour  among  gamblers.  He 
was  the  knightly  soul  of  honour  himself,  and  lived  and  died 
in  the  blind,  yet  generous  faith  that  his  noble  fortune  had 
been  honourably  squandered  among  honourable  men. 

He  left  his  two  children,  Mark  and  Ruth,  the  mere  frag 
ment  of  his  estate — his  wife  was  dead  before  he  came  over. 
Mark,  who  was  then  nearly  a  man,  managed,  through  the 
counsel  of  his  family  lawyer,  with  great  tact,  to  keep  up 
appearances  and  retain  for  a  while  the  old  mansion,  which 
was  lower  down  town,  until  the  unregarded  investment  in 
Union  Square  had  so  far  appreciated  in  value  as  to  make  it 
desirable  for  him  to  resign  the  old  house  to  his  father's  cre 
ditors,  and  move  upon  this  property. 
2B2 


318          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

He  had  nothing  left  him  in  the  world  to  love  but  his  sister 
Ruth — this  tie  had  been  unboundedly  sufficient  for  him. 
They  loved  each  other  with  the  beautiful  holiness  of  that 
chaste,  unselfish  relation. 

The  house  he  now  had  built  for  their  home  expressed  the 
perfect  and  refined  taste  of  each  in  its  different  departments, 
and  was  as  well  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  the  square. 

But  yet  Mark  Catesby  was  not  rich — not  near  so  rich  as 
society  gave  him  credit  for  being. 

The  reputation  of  unlimited  wealth  which  the  extravagant 
habits  of  his  father  had  impressed  upon  society,  had,  through 
his  docile  and  cautious  observance  of  the  conduct  and  pro 
cedure  laid  down  by  the  old  and  honoured  lawyer  of  his 
family,  been  sufficient  in  preserving  that  reputation  and  con 
sequent  credit  intact.  Now  this  reputation  and  credit  was 
worth  more  to  Catesby  than  even  his  beautiful  house  and 
somewhat  valuable  property. 

He  had  guarded  it  with  the  most  jealous  care  for  the  sake 
of  his  dear  Ruth — for  the  fact  of  his  father's  bankruptcy  had 
been  as  carefully  concealed  from  her  as  from  the  public. 

Enormously  wealthy  as  he  was  conceived  to  be,  the  loss  of 
ten  thousand  dollars  last  night  was  utterly  crushing  to  him. 
All  his  property  would  have  to  be  sacrificed,  unless  his  ficti 
tious  credit  could  be  promptly  sustained.  With  the  certainty 
of  success  before  him,  he  had  bet  upon  his  credit,  which  he 
well  knew  to  be  beyond  the  limit  of  his  bank  account.  Yet 
he  had  liabilities  to  nearly  the  same  amount  in  other  quarters, 
which  would  come  due  at  the  same  hour,  which  fact  he  had 
overlooked  in  the  flush  of  that  excitement  which  was  as  well 
hereditary  as  accidental. 

What  was  he  to  do  to  save  himself  and  his  dear  Ruth  from 
utter  ruin?  This  was  the  agonizing  question  which  caused  a 
strange  collapse  in  the  features  of  the  young  man  when  he 
came  down  to  breakfast,  about  noon  on  that  eventful  day, 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  819 

after  having  read  all  the  fatal  news  of  the  morning,  before 
he  rose. 

His  sister  was  at  the  table.  She  was  very  frail  and  fair, 
this  same  sister  Ruth  of  his ;  but  her  fairness  was  not  the 
unnatural  bleach  of  confinement,  nor  that  general  seeming 
of  physical  frailty,  the  result  of  wasting  disease.  Her  com 
plexion  was  perfectly  fresh,  and  there  was  a  suggestive  trans 
parency  in  its  whiteness  that  reminded  one  of  the  ou-tside 
petals  of  a  blush  rosebud,  which,  though  blanched  by  the 
sunlight  on  its  surface,  seemed  to  sink,  in  a  delicate,  deep 
ening  glow,  through  every  fold,  as  if  it  would  invite  the  eye 
to  follow  it  down  to  the  warm,  red  heart. 

The  frailty  of  her  figure  was  rather  apparent  than  real ; 
for  when  you  saw  her  close  at  hand,  it  was  evidently  caused 
by  that  fineness  of  bone  and  texture  which  is  the  result  of 
high  breeding  and  a  great  purity  of  genealogy  through  many 
generations  ;  for  slight  as  her  limbs  seemed,  they  were  firmly 
knit,  and  she  rather  appeared  to  bound  than  walk,  with  an 
exceeding  airiness  of  movement. 

Her  features  were  almost  of  the  pure  Grecian,  except  that 
the  nose  turned  up  slightly,  and  the  chin  was  somewhat  ad 
vanced  from  the  true  line  of  that  classic  profile,  which  gave 
to  their  expression  a  certain  degree  of  haughtiness,  that  was 
not  a  little  heightened  by  the  crisp,  beautiful  curl  of  her 
short  upper  lip. 

This  face  would  have  been  unpleasantly  proud,  and  even 
savagely  fastidious,  but  for  the  surprising  tenderness  of  those 
meek,  blue  eyes,  that  seemed  all  brimming  up  to  overflow  in 
a  quick  sympathy,  and  then  they  could  in  an  instant  freeze 
the  warm  tears  in  which  they  swam,  and  glisten  coldly  on 
you,  if  her  nice  and  imperious  taste  were  outraged  in  the 
smallest  degree. 

She  sat  with  her  back  to  the  door  as  he  entered,  and  re 
cognising  his  beloved  step  as  he  advanced,  she  pouted  her 
budding  lips  in  expectation  of  the  morning  kiss.  As  he 


320          BACK  FKOM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

* 

.stooped  over  her,  she  raised  her  eyes  to  his  face,  and  for  the 
first  time  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  expression  there. 

She  sprang  up  as  if  she  had  been  shot,  and  with  a  faint 
scream  upon  her  lips,  threw  her  arms  about  his  neck — her  quick 
instinct  had  divined  it  all  in  the  instant  of  that  one  glance. 

"  Mark  !  Mark  !  my  brother,  what  has  happened  ?" 

He  shook  in  her  arms  as  one  stricken  with  a  palsy.  She 
knew  his  whole  soul  far  more  thoroughly  than  he  did  himself. 
She  knew  the  fatal  passion  he  had  inherited,  and  had  long 
prepared  herself  for  this  result — and  now  his  deep  emotion 
confirmed  her  fears.  The  blow  had  come  at  last ! 

"Dearest  brother,  never  mind  it.  Let  it  go.  We  are 
sufficient  unto  each  other  and  unto  ourselves.  You  can  sell 
this  house,  and  you  know  you  say  I  am  such  a  good  artist 
now,"  and  she  kissed  him  fondly.  "Oh,  do  not  look  so, 
Mark !  You  will  kill  me !  I  can  bear  any  thing  but  that 
white  agony!" 

The  wretched  young  man  staggered  to  a  chair.  He  drew 
her  to  his  breast. 

"  Sweet  Ruth,"  he  moaned. 

She  kissed  him  again. 

"Dear  brother,  why  should  you  be  so  sad?  You  know 
that  it  has  always  been  a  favourite  whim  of  mine  to  take  a 
room  on  Broadway,  and  have  up  on  the  side  of  the  door  a 
nice  little  shingle,  with  '  Ruth  Catesby,  Artist,'  on  it  in  gold 
letters.  Oh,  I  shall  be  so  proud  and  strong  then !  It  must 
be  such  a  glorious  thing  to  live  by  one's  own  labour  !  Then 
old  Mr.  Kenyon  says  you  are  a  first-rate  lawyer,  and  have 
remarkable  talents  as  a  pleader.  You  have  only  to  stick  up 
your  little  shingle,  too,  and  you  will  soon  get  into  practice. 
Won't  it  be  beautiful  then,  when  we  get  together  at  night, 
after  a  hard  day's  work,  in  my  snug  little  back-room  ?" 

"You  are  a  dear,  brave  girl,  Ruth,"  said  the  young  man, 
mournfully,  and  with  quivering  lips.  "  Ah,  what  a  besotted 
Wretch  I  have  been  !" 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  321 

"  Do  not  talk  so,  Mark.  You  have  only  done  what  thou 
sands  of  the  best  men  in  the  land  have  done  during  the  fear 
ful  excitement  of  this  election.  Had  I  been  a  man,  no  doubt 
I  would  have  done  so  too." 

"No,  Ruth,  you  would  never  have  done  this,"  said  he, 
with  an  expression  of  bitter  self-reproach.  "  You  would 
never  have  compromised  a  gentle,  loving  sister,  in  your  mad 
ness,  and  driven  her  to  face  the  ignominious  alternative  of 
labouring  with  her  white,  delicate  hands,  for  the  very  bread 
she  puts  into  her  mouth.  It  can  never  be,  Ruth.  I  am  not 
quite  so  far  degraded  yet,  that  I  will  consent  to  see  the  last 
daughter  of  our  honourable  house  become  a  menial  of  the 
vulgar  public — '  dancing  attendance'  on  its  brutal  patron 
age.  I" 

"Brother!  brother!" 

"Do  not  interrupt  me,  Ruth,"  he  continued,  while  his  face 
flushed  through  its  pallor  and  assumed  somewhat  of  the 
haughty  air  habitual  to  it. 

"  It  can  never  be,  I  say.  I  have  thrown  away  your  for 
tune  and  my  own ;  squandered  it  shamefully,  as  I  have  rea 
son  to  believe,  upon  infamous  swindlers ;  and  I  owe  you  a 
great  reparation.  You  must  let  me  make  it.  I  know  I  can 
succeed  in  the  law.  What  is  done  cannot  be  mended  ;  but 
after  saving  my  honour,  by  giving  up  all,  I  can  borrow  money 
enough  among  the  old  friends  of  my  father  for  us  to  live  upon 
genteelly,  and  as  Catesbys  should,  until  I  get  into  practice, 
which  will  not  be  long.  It  shall  then  be  the  joy  and  charm 
of  my  life  to  make  you  comfortable,  and  surround  you  soon 
again  with  all  the  elegances  to  which  you  have  been  accus 
tomed.  The  law  is  an  honourable  profession,  and  it  is 
honourable  for  any  man  to  win  distinction  in  it;  but  the  idea 
of  a  daughter  of  a  Catesby  offering,  nay,  advertising  her  rare 
and  graceful  accomplishment  in  art  for  sale  to  the  highest 
bidder,  to  be  criticised  by  a  plebeian  taste — to  be  rated, 

cheapened,  and  trafficked  for  by  rich,  retired  grocers,  as  they 

21 


322  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

had  once  trafficked  for  a  side  of  bacon  or  a  string  of  onions — 
is  rather  more  than  even  this  dark  misfortune  has  prepared 
me  to  face.  It  cannot  be,  dear  Ruth.  Your  spiritual  genius 
would  not  long  survive  this  desecration  of  its  gentle  craft. 
Your  art  would  be  vulgarized  !" 

During  this  speech,  the  young  girl  had  gradually  released 
herself  from  the  arms  of  her  brother,  and  now  stood  before 
him,  her  form  unconsciously  drawn  proudly  up,  and  her  meek 
blue  eyes  lit  with  a  solemn  fire.  She  said  slowly,  and  in  a 
low  voice — 

"  My  brother,  Art  is  too  high  to  be  vulgarized  !  It  is  the 
apostle  of  the  beautiful,  and  preaches  to  the  masses  of  '  THE 
UNKNOWN  GOD  !'  They  cannot  touch  its  austere  life  by 
praise  or  blame,  because  it  is  self-derived,  and  conscious 
ness  is  its  highest  reward.  Art  does  not  ask  the  masses  to 
come  to  it ;  it  simply  commands  them  by  the  yearnings  for 
higher  life  instinctive  in  them — and  of  which  it  is  the  in 
terpreter,  through  form.  The  '  raiment  of  camel's  hair'  and 
the  '  food  of  locusts  and  wild  honey'  better  becomes  those 
who  aspire  to  be  even  the  voices  in  the  wilderness  that  an 
nounce  the  coming  of  Art  to  tranquillize,  ameliorate,  and 
ennoble  our  race,  than  the  silken  security  of  luxurious  homes. 
Art  has  nothing  to  fear  of  desecration,  through  me,  my  bro 
ther  ;  for  I  know  that  I  am  a  true  artist,  and  I  fear  nothing 
for  it  from  the  modest  contact — for  Art  has  been  the  great 
compeller  of  refinement,  through  all  time.  As  for  the  degra 
dation  of  labouring  with  my  own  hands,  it  is  a  degradation  I 
have  long  aspired  to ;  and  I  tell  you  that  the  name  of  which 
you  are  so  sensitively  proud  will  be  far  more  honoured  by 
such  a  dedication  of  what  talents  I  have  to  boast,  and  high- 
purposed  labour,  than  by  the  vain,  childish,  and  unfruitful 
life  of  luxurious  and  stately  etiquette  !  I  am  determined  to 
be  an  artist,  brother !  and  to  live  by  art, — for  the  labourer  is 
worthy  of  his  hire  !" 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  323 

"Remember  you  are  a  woman,  Ruth!"  said  Mark  some 
what  impatiently. 

"  Woman  has  as  much  right  to  work  as  you  have,  for  she 
was  doomed  to  live  by  the  sweat  of  her  brow." 

"Ah!  dear  Ruth,  you  are,  and  always  have  been,  a 
strange,  wilful  creature — but  never  unkind,  though.  I  am 
sure  you  will  let  me  persuade  you  out  of  these  extraordinary 
opinions  and  purposes,  before  the  time  shall  arrive  for  carry 
ing  them  into  execution;"  and  he  drew  her  to  him,  and 
kissed  her  fondly. 

"  I  fear  you  will  not,  Mark !"  said  she  quietly,  as  she 
struggled  free  of  his  embrace ;  and  then  turning  to  him  with 
a  pleasant  smile,  as  she  resumed  her  place  at  the  breakfast 
table,  she  said — "  Come,  brother  I  let  us  take  one  more  happy 
meal  together,  at  least." 

We  leave  these  young  people  now,  for  a  time,  and  the  ques 
tion  at  issue  by  themselves  to  be  settled,  from  the  firm  con 
viction  that  the  truest  purpose  makes  the  strongest  will  in 
such  contests,  and  that  right  will  govern  might  between 
them. 

About  this  same  hour,  two  persons  are  at  breakfast  in  the 
easy  and  luxurious  back-parlour  of  the  mysterious  house  in 
St.  John's  Square. 

The  conversation  of  these  two  persons,  which  has  been 
long  and  confidential,  has  just  now  turned  upon  the  affairs 
and  interests  of  the  individuals  we  have  just  left.  We  will 
listen  for  awhile. 

Captain  Yeiger  has  finished  his  toast,  and  is  sipping  his 
claret,  taking  a  grape  now  and  then  from  his  plate. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt,  Mr.  Carter,  that  Catesby  is  ruined 
— utterly  and  irredeemably  ruined  !  I  knew  his  father  inti 
mately,  and  have  watched  this  young  man  closely.  He  has 
never  been  a  gambler,  except  as  a  losing  one,  as  his  father 
was — and  for  the  same  reason — that  he  is  strictly  honourable, 
and  will  not  know  the  wretched  knaves  of  the  profession.  He 


324  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

loses  to-day  much  more  than  he  is  worth,  as  I  have  ascertained 
since  the  scene  last  night.  The  passion  he  inherited  rose  up 
in  the  form  of  a  monomania,  and  he  had  bet  wildly,  as  hig 
father  used  to  do,  during  all  the  day,  and  the  fever  was  still 
raging  in  his  blood  when  that  subtle  scoundrel,  Tynenck,  who 
thinks  him  to  be  richer  than  he  really  is,  tempted  him  into 
that  last  ruinous  bet.  Catesby  was  not  really  a  sane  man 
then ;  and  as  soon  as  Tynenck  entered  the  room,  I  felt  what 
he  came  for.  He  knew  Catesby  would  be  here ;  he  had  re 
ceived  the  necessary  intelligence,  through  means  concerning 
which  I  have  given  you  some  general  hints,  which  really  are 
all  I  have  to  order  now,  though  I  think  I  am  on  the  track 
of  a  certainty,  'sure  as  proof  of  holy  writ,'  which,  when  I 
have  further  elaborated,  you  shall  have  the  benefit  of.  He 
thought  him  immensely  rich — and  heard  of  his  bold  bets 
during  the  day,  and  came  post-haste,  as  I  ascertained  from 
your  negro  groom,  Pompey,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a 
heavy  bet  with  him,  which  he  accomplished.  I  could  not 
contain  my  indignation,  since  I  knew  that  Catesby  was  not 
to  be  the  only  sufferer.  Had  that  been  the  case,  I  should 
have  held  my  peace,  for  I  felt  that  the  lesson  would  be  good 
for  him !  But  I  knew  that  there  was  a  fair,  gentle  girl,  as 
gentle  as  she  was  strong,  who  would  be  most  injured  by  this 
terrible  imprudence  of  his." 

"Was  or  is  this  girl  his  mistress?"  interposed  Carter, 
coldly. 

"  No  !  no  !     His  sister,  man  !" 

"  I  beg  pardon  !     Proceed — I  am  interested  now!" 

"  This  young  girl  has  no  particular  provision  made  for 
her  in  the  will  of  her  father.  He  clung  to  the  old  idea  of 
the  right  of  primogeniture,  and  left  her  an  entire  dependant 
upon  the  older  brother.  The  old  Catesby  had  little  to  will ; 
for  his  immense  property  was  so  involved  and  cut  up  with 
mortgages  and  debts  of  honour,  that  he  did  not  know  him 
self  what  he  might  legitimately  call  his  own,  and  so  willed  to ' 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          325 

his  only  son  all  his  unembarrassed  estate.  This  spirited  and 
charming  girl  is,  therefore,  left  without  provision  of  any  sort, 
except  what  a  spotless  name  and  highly  cultivated  talents 
can  afford." 

"Is  she  really  talented?"  said  Carter,  eagerly. 

"  Yes.  I  am  consummately  skilled  in  the  use  of  the  pistol, 
and  feel  strangely  disposed  to  visit  upon  him  a  righteous  re 
tribution  for  the  wrong,  the  cold,  merciless  wrong,  he  has 
deliberately  done  to  this  young  girl,  in  swindling  her  in 
fatuated,  but  honourable  brother,  out  of  the  last  fragment  of 
the  magnificent  estate  their  father  left  them.  It  was  a  swin 
dle — base  and  cold-blooded  swindle — and  you  will  see,  when  I 
wing  the  uncertain-eyed  scoundrel  to-morrow,  that  he  will 
confess  it  before  he  is  carried  off  the  ground." 

"  I  hope  you  may  do  it,  Yeiger ;  but  this  man  has  been  in 
the  field  before  successfully." 

"  Pshaw !  he  has  never  met  an  eye  before.  I  know  my 
man !" 

"  Well,  well,  look  out.  He  knows  how  to  take  you  at  an 
advantage,  as  he  did  poor  Catesby.  Five  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning !" 


CHAPTER  III. 

As  the  day  broke,  there  were  three  men  standing  at  the 
row-boat  stairs  on  the  North  River  side  of  the  Battery,  foot 
of  Pier  No.  1.  It  was  too  early  even  for  the  habits  of  that 
most  tenacious,  wide-awake,  fare-abiding  animal — the  Battery 
oarsman. 

They  have  to  wait — and  we  can  see,  first,  that  they  all 

have  on  large,  heavy  cloaks ;   second,  that  two  of  them  carry 
2C 


326          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

a  mahogany  case  under  the  right  arm,  and  that  said  cases 
have  a  very  suspicious  look. 

A  handsome  carriage,  which  appears  to  have  brought  them 
down,  stands  in  waiting  a  short  distance  off. 

They  soon  enter  a  boat,  and  are  pushed  off. 

The  oarsman  seemed  to  understand  his  course  perfectly; 
for,  without  a  word  of  direction,  he  passed  among  the  vessels 
of  war  that  were  anchored  off  the  castle,  and  struck  out 
boldly  across  the  bay,  in  a  south-westerly  direction,  for  the 
Jersey  shore. 

No  word  was  spoken  until  they  had  reached  the  open 
water,  when  Jack,  who  had  been  eying  suspiciously  those 
mahogany  cases,  which  were  deposited  carefully  in  the  bot 
tom  of  the  boat,  said,  after  squirting  an  immense  mouthful 
of  tobacco-juice  over  the  side,  which  was  sufficient  to  have 
made  a  shoal  of  porpoises  drunk,  had  there  been  any  near — 

"  Capt'en,  I've  seen  them  things  afore." 

"  I  suppose  you  have,  Jack.     "What  then  ?" 

"  Only  I  wanted  to  know  if  it  was  you  this  time  ?" 

"  Well,  supposing  it  is  me,  Jack — what  have  you  to  say  in 
such  a  case?" 

"Nothing,  Capt'en,  nothing — only  I  hope  you  won't  for 
get  that  famous  line-shot  of  yourn,  that  anchored  that  saucy 
Englisher  so  safe  on  the  beach  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  last 
time  I  took  you  out  with  them  things  at  daybreak.  Just 
under  the  pit  of  the  right  arm  it  was,  Capt'en." 

"Yes,  I  remember." 

"  The  Britishers  said  that  was  too  trim  betwixt  wind  and 
water  for  them,  though  it  was  one  of  their  own  people,  and 
they  gave  us  a  wide  berth  afterwards  on  that  station." 

"  Never  fear,  Jack.  I  shall  take  care  about  my  line-shot, 
and  have  it  all  right,  if  you  will  only  get  me  to  the  ground. 
Lay  to  your  oars,  my  man — it  is  late." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  and  Jack  pulled  away  now  as  if  for  dear  life. 
The  party  had  been  perfectly  silent  for  some  time,  and  the 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  327 

boat  was  rapidly  nearing  the  Jersey  shore,  when  Captain 
Yeiger  looked  up  suddenly  and  said — 

"  Ah !  Carter,  there  is  one  thing  I  had  as  well  mention  to 
you,  now  I  think  of  it.  In  my  rooms  at  the  Astor  House, 
there  is  a  small  portable  writing-desk,  which  is  filled  with 
sheets  of  manuscript,  containing  notes  of  information  I  have 
collected  during  several  years  of  close  observation.  You  will 
find  it  all  bears  upon  a  certain  dangerous  mystery,  which 
was  yesterday  the  subject  of  interesting  conversation  between 
us.  Should  any  thing  happen  to  me  at  any  time  suddenly,  I 
desire  you  to  take  charge  of  that  desk  and  of  the  manuscript, 
and  make  what  use  you  deem  proper  of  the  facts  you  will 
find  it  to  contain.  They  may  be  of  great  importance  to 
yourself  individually,  and  of  some  to  the  world.  You  will 
find  the  key  in  the  left  pocket  of  my  vest :  it  is  in  a  small 
leather  pouch,  which  also  contains  directions  how  to  use  it, 
for  the  lock  is  very  peculiar.  You  will  remember  this  for 
me,  will  you  not  ?" 

"  Certainly,  captain — I  will  not  fail  you.  But  I  hope  I 
shall  not  be  called  upon  soon  to  fulfil  such  a  duty." 

"  Oh,  there  is  little  probability  of  that,  this  morning  at 
least.  It  was  merely  a  suggestion  which  happened  to  occur 
to  me,  with  no  more  particular  reference  to  the  business  in 
hand  than  to  any  other  ordinary  contingency." 

This  was  said  so  very  quietly,  that  Carter  was  considerably 
relieved ;  for  he  feared  his  friend  had  been  overtaken  by  one 
of  those  prophetic  threatening  shadows  of  doom  which  some 
times  fall  mysteriously  across  the  sunlight  of  the  souls  of 
the  bravest  men,  to  unnerve  them  in  the  moments  of  their 
greatest  peril. 

They  had  now  reached  the  shore  a  few  miles  below  Jersey 
city.  They  landed  near  a  narrow  slip  of  woods  which  came 
down  close  to  the  water.  A  boat  like  their  own  was  moored 
a  hundred  yards  off,  and  they  could  see  the  rower  leaning 


328          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

back  in  it,  apparently  fast  asleep.  No  other  human  being 
was  in  sight. 

"  They  are  here,  and  waiting  for  us  !"  said  Captain  Yeiger, 
with  an  expression  of  vexation,  as  he  looked  at  his  watch. 

Carter  smiled. 

"  Never  mind,  captain.  They  will  have  no  reason  to  com 
plain,  since  they  have  had  just  fifteen  minutes  the  advantage 
of  us  to  grow  cool  in  and  survey  the  ground." 

"  They  are  welcome  to  all  the  advantage  that  will  afford, 
for  I  know  that  one  glance  of  your  eye  over  the  field  will  be 
sufficient  to  baffle  all  their  tactics." 

"Yes;  my  eyes  are  usually  open." 

They  had  now  reached  the  narrow  point  or  tongue  of  tim 
ber.  The  growth  was  very  thick,  but  they  could  hear  the 
sound  of  voices  beyond.  They  now  paused,  and  Frank 
turned  towards  the  third  person  of  the  party,  who  had  not 
heretofore  spoken  at  all. 

"  Doctor,  you  had  better  stop  here.  You  are  close  enough 
to  hear  the  pistols;  but  you  will  please  wait  my  personal 
summons  before  making  your  appearance  on  the  field.  There 
is  no  reason  why  you,  who  came  out  professionally,  should  be 
annoyed,  in  case  of  criminal  prosecution,  by  being  in  any 
way  implicated  as  an  accessory  or  summoned  as  a  witness." 

The  person  thus  addressed  had  a  hard,  sharp,  professional 
face,  and  merely  said,  in  a  dry  tone — 

"  Right ;  perfectly  right,  Mr.  Carter.  I  am  more  inte 
rested  for  the  bones  of  your  friend  than  for  his  honour !  I 
shall  be  comfortable  enough,  provided  you  are  not  too  long 
in  getting  them  broken  for  him  !" 

And  placing  his  case  of  instruments  upon  the  sand,  at  the 
foot  of  a  small  tree,  he  sat  down  upon  it  very  deliberately, 
and  leaning  back,  folded  his  cloak  about  him  as  if  he  were 
going  to  take  a  nap  in  the  mean  time. 

Frank  could  not  help  smiling ;  but,  as  he  was  turning  off, 
he  saw,  to  his  great  surprise,  the  oarsman  hobbling  towards 


•  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          329 

them  across  the  sands.  He  was  about  to  wave  him  back  im 
patiently  to  his  boat,  when  Yeiger  arrested  his  arm. 

"  Let  him  alone,  Carter  !  Jack  knows  what  he  is  about. 
He  has  been  with  me  too  often  on  such  occasions  to  compro 
mise  us  in  any  degree." 

"  Well,  well,  you  know  the  man.  Come,  let's  go  round 
the  point." 

A  few  steps  brought  them  around  the  sharp  angle  of  the 
wood.  Here  there  seemed  to  have  been  a  sort  of  inlet  or 
arm  of  the  bay,  which  had  once  run  up  some  distance  into 
the  old  wood,  but  as  the  waters  receded,  a  white  and  sterile 
bed  of  sand  had  been  left,  which  was  yet  quite  firm  to  the 
tread,  like  that  along  the  beach. 

It  was  a  singular  nook ;  and  the  woods  on  both  sides  of  it 
shut  out  the  probabilities  of  observation,  although  there  were 
four  houses  within  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  on  both 
Bides. 

Some  fifty  paces  distant  a  tall  figure  was  walking  impa 
tiently  to  and  fro,  holding  a  watch  in  his  hand:  two  other 
persons  were  seated  on  a  log  at  the  edge  of  the  wood.  The 
tall  man  paused,  returned  the  watch  to  his  pocket,  and  the 
others  rose  as  the  two  came  in  sight.  One  of  them  advanced, 
and,  to  the  infinite  and  inexpressible  horror  of  Frank  Carter, 
he  recognised  in  this  person  Newnon  Clenny. 

Poor  fellow !  He  nearly  fainted,  although  not  given  to  the 
melting  mood.  It  seemed  to  him  as  if  the  sky  had  fallen  in 
upon  his  soul ! 

"  Great  God  !"  he  exclaimed,  "  Freta  false  ;  and  this  man, 
whom  I  have  loved  so  much,  a  traitor  to  our  long  friendship — 
to  all  truth  and  friendship !" 

He  griped  the  arm  of  Yeiger  convulsively,  as  if  to  keep 
him  from  falling.  This  singular  person  seemed  to  under 
stand  the  mood  of  Frank  and  its  causes,  as  if  he  read  an  illu 
minated  scroll.  He  merely  said  in  a  loud  whisper,  the 

emphasis  of  which  was  hissed  into  his  ear — 
2C2 


330          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

"  Be  a  man,  Carter !  I  KNOW  this  person  to  be  ONE  OP 
THEM  !" 

"  Hah !''  said  Frank,  in  the  same  tone,  but  with  a  sort  of 
choked  convulsiveness.  "  What  a  fool  I  have  been  not  to 
suspect  this  before !  How  infamously  the  purest,  highest, 
and  noblest  instincts  of  my  nature  have  been  trifled  with  and 
speculated  upon !" 

The  experience  of  twenty  years  of  pain  and  wrong  could 
hardly  have  congealed  a  warm  heart  so  utterly  as  that  of 
Frank  became  in  one  instant  now.  The  mild  arch  of  his 
brows  sunk  down  square  above  his  eyes,  with  a  painful  wrin 
kle  between  them,  which  seemed  chiselled  and  fixed  in  a  mar 
ble  and  sphinx-like  eternity  of  suffering. 

He  greeted  Clenny  coldly,  and  as  an  utter  stranger,  in  re 
ply  to  his  formal  salutation. 

"  We  have  been  accidentally  detained  in  getting  over  this 
morning.  I  hope,  sir,  we  have  not  kept  you  waiting  long?" 

"No,  no,  sir!  My  friend  is  very  patient.  Our  cloaks 
are  something  heavier  for  the  mist,  but  we  shall  only  be  the 
lighter  when  we  throw  them  off.  You  have  no  surgeon,  I 
perceive  ?" 

"  I  am  gratified  to  relieve  your  apprehension — we  have  a 
skilful  and  proper  person  within  call." 

"  Why  not  bring  him  forward,  as  we  have  done  our  sur 
geon  ?" 

"Because  I  do  not  perceive  the  necessity  of  implicating 
persons  who  come  out  in  a  professional  capacity,  in  the  civil 
or  criminal  consequences  of  our  acts." 

"Then,  sir,  I  will  send  our  surgeon  to  join  yours." 

"  If  he  turns  that  point  of  timber,  he  will  not  fail  to  find 
him,  and,  most  probably,  sound  asleep,  too." 

"I  will  send  him." 

Clenny  walked  back  rapidly,  and  soon  returned  with  his 
surgeon,  instrument  case,  and  all. 

"Go  around  the  point,"  said  Frank,  "and  you  will  pro- 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          331 

bably  find  him  sound  asleep  behind  a  tree.  You  will  both 
please  to  wait  there  until  we  call  for  you." 

The  surgeon  obeyed ;  and,  taking  his  case  of  instruments 
under  his  arm,  walked  off  without  a  word. 

They  now  walked  forward  to  the  ground,  which  seemed  to 
have  been  selected  by  the  party  which  came  first.  It  was 
flanked  on  either  side  by  the  wood,  and  opened  toward  the 
bay.  Frank  Carter  saw  all  the  capabilities  of  the  spot,  and 
quietly  waited  the  demonstration  of  the  other  party. 

They  now  approached  each  other,  and  Tynenck  and  Yeiger 
lifted  their  hats  in  formal  and  frigid  greeting.  It  was  out 
of  the  question  to  talk  or  think  of  compromise  and  conces 
sion  in  a  case  like  this,  so  the  business  of  the  morning  pro 
ceeded  in  a  most  methodical  manner. 

The  distance  was  ten  paces,  and  Clenny  commenced  to 
measure  the. ground.  Carter  watched  him  in  cold  silence, 
and  did  not  attempt  to  interfere,  as  was  his  duty  and  right. 
He  had  a  purpose  in  this  passiveness.  The  mist  had  now 
risen,  and  the  sun  was  nearly  above  the  horizon. 

Clenny  marked  the  places  of  the  combatants,  and  Tynenck 
rather  hastily  stepped  forward  toward  his  own.  The  sun 
would  be  up  in  a  few  moments.  Neither  Carter  nor  Yeiger 
had  yet  thrown  off  their  cloaks,  and  both  stood  with  folded 
arms  and  without  speaking.  We  have  mentioned  that  the 
inlet  opened  toward  the  bay,  and  east. 

"  Mr.  Carter,  will  you  please  to  measure  this  ground  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Carter  suddenly;  and,  dropping  his  cloak, 
proceeded  formally  to  step  it  between  the  marks  that  Clenny 
had  made. 

"You  have  measured  correctly,  sir  —  this  is  just  ten 
paces." 

He  said  this  as  he  reached  the  spot  which  Clenny  had  evi 
dently  assigned  to  Tynenck.  His  back  was  towards  Clenny, 
and  we  have  mentioned  that  Tynenck  had  advanced  some 
what  prematurely  towards  his  position. 


332          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

Carter  regarded  him  with  a  blank,  inexpressive  look,  while, 
without  turning  his  head,  he  said  in  a  careless  tone — 

"Your  friend  seems  to  be  somewhat  in 'a  hurry  to  assume 
his  position,  Mr.  Clenny,  which  is  a  pity,  when  it  is  evident 
that  the  advantage  it  gives  him,  will  be  so  much  heightened 
as  the  sun  rises  !" 

Tynenck  was  near  enough  to  hear  this  distinctly,  and 
turned  very  pale,  while  Carter  proceeded,  almost  playfully, 
as  he  faced  about — 

"  It  probably  did  not  occur  to  you,  Mr.  Clenny,  in  select 
ing  this  ground,  that  it  would  require  an  extraordinary  power 
of  vision  on  the  part  of  my  friend  to  see  his  opponent  at  all 
with  the  rising  sun  in  his  face.  You  have  unconsciously  paid 
him  a  singular  and  poetical  compliment  in  thus  taking  it  for 
granted  that  his  is  an  eagle's  eye!" 

"  The  sun  is  not  yet  up,  Mr.  Carter." 

"It  will  be,"  and  he  pulled  out  his  watch,  "according  to 
the  almanac,  up  in  five  minutes.  Besides,  Mr.  Clenny,  a 
dark  background  is  understood,  in  art,  to  bring  forward  the 
lights  and  shades  in  a  picture.  You  have  set  the  person  of 
my  friend  quite  artistically  against  the  dark  background  of 
those  trees." 

"  Your  humorous  vein  is  out  of  place,  Mr.  Carter.  We 
are  not  here  on  your  habitual  debauch." 

"Evidently  not;  for  '  in  vino  veritas,'  and  I  might  tell  you 
some  unpleasant  truths." 

Frank  looked  him  steadily  in  the  eye,  and  could  not  sub 
due  an  involuntary  shudder  as  he  recognised  the  serpent-like 
malignity  which  crept  into  the  face  of  Clenny. 

For  the  first  time  he  read  this  bad,  malicious  man,  through 
and  through,  and  saw  clear  down  into  the  yawning  hell  of 
hate  and  evil  in  his  heart.  His  manner  changed  instantly, 
and  his  voice  became  cold  and  severe. 

"  Mr.  Clenny,  I  cannot  consent  to  place  my  friend  in  the 
unfair  position  you  have  so  officiously  chosen.  Alter  their 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  333 

position — let  us  have  it  across  this  inlet,  and  then  your  com 
mon  sense  will  show  you  that,  with  small  trees  behind  each, 
they  are  on  an  equal  footing." 

"  Very  good,  sir ;  very  good.  My  choice  of  positions,  out 
of  which  you  have  managed  to  extract  matter  for  grandilo 
quent  heroics,  was  entirely  accidental.  Let  it  be  as  you 
propose." 

The  ground  was  accordingly  measured,  and  now  the  par 
ties  took  their  places.  But,  since  the  altercation  which  we 
have  given,  a  sort  of  pitiless  gloom  had  settled  clown  upon 
the  faces  of  these  four  persons,  which  was  only  the  more 
ominous  from  its  stillness. 

Captain  Yeiger  had  been  standing  with  folded  arms  during 
all  this  scene ;  and  now,  with  a  sneering  smile,  threw  off  his 
cloak  and  came  forward  to  his  place.  His  eyes  were  strangely 
enlarged,  and  glittered  with  a  deadly  fierceness  as  they  met 
those  of  his  foe.  In  Tynenck's  eye  there  was  the  cold,  dan 
gerous  look  of  the  assassin,  which  could  not  dwell  upon,  but 
played  around  this  angry  splendour. 

They  cast  up  a  coin,  and  the  word  fell  to  Clenny.  Just 
before  it  was  given,  Yeiger  whispered  to  Carter — 

"I  told  you,  yesterday  morning,  I  meant  to  'wing'  him. 
I  have  changed  my  mind — I  mean  to  wing  him  now  for  the 
other  world.  Look  for  my  shot  under  the  pit  of  the  right 
arm." 

"  Are  you  ready,  gentlemen  ?     Fire,  one,  two,  three." 

Yeiger  fired  at  the  word  with  singular  quickness.  The 
form  of  Tynenck  swayed  slightly,  and  then,  as  it  swung 
round,  he  fired  at  "three."  Yeiger  shuddered  down  to  his 
very  feet,  but  stood  firm. 

Frank  sprang  forward  eagerly. 

"  Are  you  hit,  captain  ?" 

"  Only  touched,  Carter ;  but  I  must  have  another  shot.  I 
hit  that  man  !" 

Tynenck  was  leaning  in  the  arms  of  Clenny,  and  his  face 


834  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

had  assumed  a  sick  and  chalk-like  whiteness.  He  rallied  as 
Carter  approached,  and  in  a  faint  voice  expressed  his  readi 
ness  for  another  shot. 

Clenny  at  first  protested  that  his  friend  was  too  badly  hurt 
to  continue  the  combat ;  but  Tynenck,  with  a  feeble  smile, 
assured  him  that  he  was  not  hurt,  and  was  anxious  that  there 
should  be  another  fire. 

The  pistols  were  quickly  loaded.  Yeiger  had,  in  the  mean 
time,  been  standing  like  a  stiffened  corpse,  without  having 
moved  a  limb.  His  face  was  terribly  ghastly,  and  his  black 
eyes  scintillated  a  still,  concentrated  wrath. 

Had  Frank  Carter  been  less  excited  or  engrossed,  he  would 
have  seen  there  was  a  pool  of  blood  about  the  feet  of  this 
stern,  strong  man. 

His  shoes  had  run  over,  and  he  stood  in  the  ebbing  current 
of  his  own  life. 

He  snatched  eagerly  at  the  pistol  which  Carter  handed 
him.  This  time  Tynenck  fired  Hurriedly  as  soon  as  the  word 
"fire"  was  pronounced  by  Clenny;  but  Yeiger  waited  with 
an  immovable  tension  of  nerve — then  fired  at  "three." 

Tynenck  dropped  instantly  with  a  ball  through  his  fore 
head.  Yeiger  sank  down  gradually,  with  the  blood  gushing 
from  his  mouth.  He  muttered,  while  his  eyes  were  glazing — 

"  There  is  no  mail  there — I  hit  him  at  first — he  wears  mail 
about  his  body!" 

Frank  rushed  forward  toward  the  body  of  Tynenck,  and 
tore  open  his  vest.  Clenny  interposed. 

"What  do  you  mean,  sir?" 

"I  mean,  sir,"  said  Frank,  with  a  savage  look,  "to  ascer 
tain  whether  this  friend  of  yours  wears  mail  or  not." 

"  Stand  back,  sir,"  said  Clenny,  with  a  wild  gesture, 
stretching  his  hand  over  the  still  body  of  Tynenck. 

"  I  will  not  stand  back !  I  mean  to  see  what  he  wears 
next  his  skin." 

Frank  clutched  the  vest  and  shirt  of  the  dead  man,  when 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  335 

Clenny  sprang  at  him,  with  a  sort  of  shriek,  but  Frank  met 
him  with  a  blow  which  stunned  him.  Clenny  fell,  and  Frank 
tore  open  the  bosom,  and  thus  revealed  beneath,  not  a  steel- 
linked  shirt,  as  the  romances  have  it,  but  a  close-stitched 
quilting  of  silk. 

It  was  only  necessary  to  turn  over  the  coat  and  vest  to  see 
that  the  ball  had  struck  the  fatal  line,  and  been  glanced  off 
by  this  most  effective  coat  of  mail.  The  man  had  been 
stunned  by  the  force  of  the  ball,  though  it  had  not  pene 
trated  the  silk. 

Yeiger  had  stiffened  as  he  sank  down,  and  the  last  words 
he  spoke  were,  "REMEMBER  THE  KEY  !" 

The  surgeons  now  made  their  appearance,  coming  hastily 
forward ;  and  Jack,  the  sailor,  rushed  out  of  the  wood  and 
fell  upon  his  knees  by  the  body  of  his  old  captain. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Carter,  solemnly  pointing  to  the  body 
of  Tynenck,  "  please  examine  the  body  of  that  assassin,  and 
bear  me  witness  that  he  deserved  his  fate — and  that  this 
wretch !"  pointing  scornfully  at  Clenny,  who  was  sitting  with 
an  ashy  face,  "  has  been  accessary  to  the  fact  of  a  deliberate 
murder  upon  the  body  of  my  friend  !" 

"The  bloody  villain!"  said  Jack,  looking  up  with  stream 
ing  eyes.  "  It's  a  murder  he's  done,  is  it  ?"  and  he  began  to 
finger  his  knife,  while  he  looked  viciously  at  Clenny. 

Frank  saw  that  more  mischief  was  threatened,  and  stepped 
hastily  between  the  sailor  and  Clenny. 

"No  more  blood  !  no  more  blood  !  Enough  has  been  shed 
this  morning!" 

"  You  have  no  use  for  me  here  any  longer.  These  bones 
are  past  my  skill."  And  the  technical  surgeon  turned  away. 


336          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

POOR  Frank  Carter !  It  did  seem,  literally,  as  if  the  vials 
of  all  wrath  had  been  poured  upon  his  head.  He  had  for 
tune,  but  what  of  that  ?  He  had  walked  over  the  fresh 
graves  of  all  that  were  nearest  and  dearest  to  him,  into  its 
possession. 

Mother,  father,  brother,  and  sister,  one  after  another,  the 
whole  family  group  of  precious  ones — so  beautifully  elevated 
in  the  tender  memories  of  his  boyhood,  as  the  mythology  of 
that  young  time  of  holy  peace  and  trusting  worship — he  had 
seen  swept  away  by  the  terrible  fevers  of  the  South. 

When  the  last  went — oh !  how  desolate,  in  the  mighty  be 
reavement,  that  tall,  lithe  youth  stood  up  like  a  young  tree, 
the  last  of  the  forest,  which  only  held  erect  for  pride,  although 
"the  cross,  quick  lightning"  had  as  well  touched  to  the  core 
its  life. 

But  then  that  life  was  very  vigorous,  and  responded 
quickly  to  the  blessing  of  the  sun,  and  through  the  healing 
influence  was  aroused  to  spread  its  arms  and  reach  with  up 
ward  yearnings  once  again.  And  now  there  had  come  to 
him  a  weird,  new  Presence,  which  filled  the  "  valley  and  the 
shadow"  where  his  soul  stood,  with  a  warm,  strange  light, 
but  a  light  no  other  eyes  could  see.  It  was  the  light  of 
dreams,  which  entereth  the  dark  gates  of  sense  to  make  the 
earthly  tabernacle  glow  through  all  its  chambers,  as  if  an 
angel  had  come  in  to  rest.  But  it  was  an  angel  all  too  mild 
to  hurt  with  "the  destroying  splendour,"  and  seemed  to 
plead  with  his  soul  for  room,  while  with  a  meek  command  it 
glided  in  without  his  answer,  and  nestled  down  beside  his 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  337 

heart,  turning  the    starshine  calm    eyes   upon   it,  as   if  to 
watch  the  throbbings. 

This  was  the  Ideal,  yet  he  did  not  worship  it  consciously, 
but  rather  the  soul  within  him  lay  down  beside  it  peacefully — 
splendour  to  splendour — and  watched  with  it  how  his  own 
heart  went. 

But  sometimes  the  "elemental  rack"  of  wrath  or  lust 
would  smite  upon  that  heart,  from  outward,  through  the 
roused  and  maddened  senses,  until  it  bounded  wild,  and  then 
the  Presence  and  the  starshine  would  go  away  and  leave  his 
forlorn  soul  to  struggle  with  the  tempest  through  deep  night — 
but  it  would  as  surely  come  back  again  as  the  moon  does  to 
the  storm-lashed  sea,  through  the  first  rift  of  clouds. 

This  was  his  time  to  worship  it ;  for  he  prayed  through  the 
dark  waves  that  it  would  come  to  his  agony,  and  when  he 
felt  its  warm  light  back  again,  ah !  felt  what  worship  his  be 
wildered  joy  made  out  of  gratitude,  until  his  heart  grew  calm 
once  more,  and  then  his  soul  lay  happily  down  beside  it, 
splendour  to  splendour — all  assured  as  before. 

But  these  storms  returned  less  frequently  after  this  Pre 
sence  came,  and  gradually  he  grew  watchful  that  his  life 
should  be  kept  still  and  his  heart-pulse  regular,  lest  the 
bright  inmate,  with  the  starshine  in  its  eyes  that  watched  it, 
should  be  frightened,  and  go  away  again.  He  grew  steady 
upon  this  poise,  and  lived  so  through  years  of  transition 
from  youth  to  manhood. 

Often,  for  a  time,  he  was  shaken  as  if  an  earthquake 
urged  and  worked  within  him,  when  he  saw  a  vague  some 
thing  in  the  eyes  of  a  young  girl  which  reminded  of  that  star- 
shine  near  his  heart — but  then  the  REALITY  went  suddenly 
away  from  its  close  nestle  by  that  centre  of  the  sensuous 
life,  and  he  was  left  to  struggle  through  the  dim  red  haze  of 
a  voluptuous  mist,  like  a  blind  man  feeling  through  "  outer 
darkness"  until  his  fingers  waked  him  from  the  grobd  delu 
sion, — pah ! 

2D  22 


338  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

Then,  after  a  while,  the  starshine  would  creep  back  through 
the  gloom  of  sultry  moodings,  and  the  Presence  would  lie 
down  again  in  peace  and  joy  on  its  old  couch  of  light,  to 
watch  his  heart  grow  calm  once  more.  So  his  life  had 
flowed  with  ebbing  alternations,  passion,  gloom,  and  peace 
contending,  until  the  time  when  we  first  knew  him,  an  adven 
turer  of  the  wilderness,  when  the  starshine  was  in  the  ascend 
ant,  though  he  had  substituted  friendship,  just  then,  as  he 
supposed,  for  this  ideal  passion,  because  it  was  more  like  its 
deep  calm,  that  shone  about  his  heart,  and  could  not  disturb 
its  repose. 

This  man  Clenny  had  come  to  him  with  the  surest  guaran 
ties,  through  letters  from  faithful  and  time-honoured  corre 
spondents  of  his  father,  and  he  had  embraced  him  at  once  as 
a  brother. 

Carter  had  before  known  many  friends  with  whom  he 
warmly  sympathized,  as  participating  with  him  to  a  certain 
interior  degree  in  the  conditions  of  his  life  just  then  ;  but  in 
meeting  Clenny,  he  first  found  "  THE  SOCIAL  SKEPTIC" — the 
unbeliever  in  the  hope  and  future  of  humanity — the  shrewd 
and  biting  sneerer  at  all  the  sacredness  of  its  tameless  and 
undying  aspirations. 

The  character  was  a  novelty  to  him,  and  attracted  him 
strongly,  at  once,  as  a  novelty.  He  could  not  believe  that 
any  being  born  beneath  God's  sunshine,  who  had  ever  seen 
the  young  flowers  grow,  could  live,  and  not  have  felt  his  soul 
swell  pregnant,  not  alone  to  the  kiss  of  spring,  and  blossom 
through  his  brain  in  fragrant  thoughts  of  tender  joy,  which 
deepened  on  to  the  summer  of  opened  roses  arid  all  glorious 
flowers  into  the  autumn  of  hope's  fruition. 

He  could  not  realize,  and  would  not  realize  such  ungentle 
skepticism.  He  could  realize  that  such  faith  should  be  want 
ing  to  the  heavy  boor,  who  woke  to  eat,  as  the  wild  beast 
does,  to  absolute  engorgement,  and  of  the  same  bloody  food — 
*Jiat  he  should  work,  work,  plod  drowsily  through  all  the 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  339 

day,  without  any  other  presence  in  his  congested  brain  than 
the  thought  of  his  next  meal ;  but  that  a  man  of  refined  cul 
tivation  should  level  his  faith  to  that  of  the  dull-eyed  boor, 
was  beyond  his  comprehension. 

The  one  could  see  the  stars  through  a  clear  empyrean 
above  him — the  other,  with  his  "downward  eye,"  see  them  but 
in  their  reflex  in  the  puddle  at  his  feet. 

He  did  not  believe  the  sneers  of  Clenny  to  be  real  expres 
sions  of  his  inmost  life  and  thought.  He  belived  that,  like 
many  proud  and  sensitive  men,  this  one  had  unconsciously 
fallen  into  the  habit  of  jeering  at  the  sacredness  of  others,  as 
a  sort  of  petulant  and  skin-deep  disguise  for  his  own,  which 
he  shrank  from  revealing. 

He  saw  that  Clenny  was  as  brave  as  a  lion,  and  took  all 
the  rest  for  granted ;  for  with  quite  characteristic  impulsive 
ness,  he  did  not  understand  how  a  brave  man  could  be  any 
thing  else  than  generous,  true,  and  honourable. 

Indeed,  Clenny  well  understood  how  to  sustain  an  illusion 
of  this  kind,  for  with  him  it  was  quite  an  indifferent  matter 
whether  he  did  a  princely  and  generous  thing,  on  your  behalf, 
mathematically,  or  ruined  you  utterly,  body  and  soul,  through 
the  same  process  of  cold  calculation.  The  power  of  numbers 
was  the  power  of  conscience  with  him,  and  ruled  a  will  as 
patient  and  inexorable  as  death. 

He  was  witty  and  intellectual  as  he  was  caustic,  and  Frank 
was  charmed  by  the  contrast.  Though  very  reserved  and 
cautious  in  forming  such  ties,  he  had  yet  thrown  himself 
with  all  his  enthusiasm  into  this  friendship  of  Clenny. 

As  for  Myra  Haynes — with  whom  Clenny  had  seemed, 
with  strange  pertinacity,  to  be  endeavouring  to  entangle  him 
into  a  match,  through  the  several  years  of  their  intercourse — 
she  had  never  for  a  moment  by  her  presence  stirred  the  star- 
shine  by  his  heart. 

But  ah,  when  he  met  Freta,  his  angel  guest  rose  up  and 
went  forth  with  all  its  glory  on,  and  disappeared  within  her 


340  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

form  for  ever.  Then  he  saw,  with  his  outward  vision,  that 
same  star-shine  appear  in  her  eyes,  and  felt  it  upon  his  heart 
as  of  old — through  the  walls  of  the  tabernacle  now,  rather 
than  from  within  its  chambers.  His  IDEAL  had  gone  forth 
and  been  embodied. 

A  few  brief  days,  and  rapture  had  been  agony — a  bright 
storm  now  raged  within  him,  and  shook  his  life  with  a  joy  so 
tameless  and  intense,  that  it  could  be  only  uttered  in  electric 
flashes  down  the  nerves. 

But  ah,  the  desolating  and  terrific  gloom  which  followed — 
lassoed,  and  borne  away  all  helpless — while  SHE,  too,  seemed 
going  off  all  cold  and  unregardful,  without  even  turning  her 
head  for  a  farewell  look.  Then  his  IDEAL  had  gone  out  in 
horror  and  in  gloom. 

Months  of  delirium  and  nearly  fatal  illness  followed,  and 
he  awoke  in  deep  night  and  went  forth  a  stumbling,  stricken 
man.  He  yet  went  groping,  plunging  on,  always  through 
thick  darkness,  with  only  one  pale  star — his  passionate  friend 
ship  for  Clenny — before  him ;  and  now  even  that  had  gone 
out  in  bloody  wrath — in  the  shame  of  unutterable  dishonour 
and  the  gloomy  mystery  of  concerted  and  premeditated 
crime. 

What  wonder,  then,  that  "the  Enthusiast"  became  wild 
now  !  He  was  too  strong  to  die — too  fiercely  proud  to  ac 
knowledge  himself  utterly  crushed,  even  to  himself. 

Despair  had  no  funeral  gloom  so  fearful,  or  so  blind  to 
him,  as  that  his  own  conscious  self-respect  would  bring  in  the 
awful  shadows  of  a  ruthless  wrath  upon  him,  should  he  prove 
recreant  to  his  CENTRAL  WILL,  against  the  combined  universe 
of  sentiment  and  action. 

He  had  blinded  and  stunned  and  made  a  beast  of  himself, 
in  his  excesses,  and  yet  through  all  his  strong  individuality 
was  asserted,  and  could  not  be  degraded  by  the  wildest 
extremes.  Though  plunged  into  the  most  extravagant  dis- 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          341 

sipation,  still  in  its  gloomiest  disguises  he  preserved  this 
central  consciousness  and  firmness  of  will. 

Had  he  been  brought  up  to  what  he  then  considered  the 
prejudiced  bar  of  "  public  opinion,"  to  answer  for  his  acts, 
he  would  have  haughtily  plead  guilty,  without  any  excuse — 
deliberately  guilty,  with  eyes  wide  open — guilty,  because  he 
chose  to  be  so.  He  was  outraging  the  truth  in  himself,  rather 
than  any  truth  in  the  social  organization,  and  asked  no  mercy 
at  its  hands. 

Thus  he  thought,  felt,  and  acted ;  and  had  he  been  some 
poor  man,  who  only  managed  to  decently  compromise  between 
honour  and  poverty,  he  would  have  been  hunted  down  by  the 
hue  and  cry  of  drunkard,  ruffian,  etc.  ;  but  as  his  great 
wealth  was  well  known,  all  these  things  were  politely  termed 
the  eccentricities  of  a  young  Southerner. 

Unconscious  Frank,  had  they  outlawed  him  a  hundred 
times,  he  would  have  come  back,  though  it  had  been  from  the 
gloomiest  depths  of  poverty,  with  such  a  calm  and  steadfast 
assurance  of  a  right  to  place  his  feet  where  he  willed  to  place 
them,  that  the  silly,  clamorous  crowd  of  denunciators  would 
have  been  stilled  to  ask  respectfully,  "  Who  is  it  ?"  He  did 
not  care — the  possession  of  wealth  made  no  difference  with 
him — the  question  between  himself  and  society  was  a  paltry 
one — too  paltry  to  be  regarded  by  him  for  a  moment  but 
with  scorn. 

The  only  issue  he  recognised,  was  that  between  himself,  his 
own  central  consciousness,  and  God — the  God  of  justice; 
righteousness,  and  truth.  He  was  under  an  awful  cloud  now, 
for  his  IDEAL  was  gone  with  the  vanished  starshine,  and  his 
friendship  had  been  fatally  outraged,  and  he  was  struggling 
towards  the  sunlight  as  best  he  could  through  the  darkness. 
What  did  he  care  what  men  said  about  the  mode  and  moods 
of  this  struggle  ? 

It  was  his  business — a  private  matter  between  God  and 

himself — and  he  utterly  scorned  and  contemned  the  senti- 
2D2 


342  «          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

ment  of  a  public  which  pronounced  upon  him  ignorantly,  out 
of  an  unreasoning  prejudice. 

Had  he  been  ever  so  poor,  his  indomitable  CONSCIENTIOUS 
NESS  was  strong  enough  to  have  outlived  the  clamour  of  acci 
dent  and  occasion,  and  come  up  out  of  the  shadow  with  calm, 
commanding  eyes,  which  would  have  wrested  a  place  for  him 
out  of  their  vulgar  hate. 

Since  that  bloody  duel,  he  had  been  what  the  charitable 
world  would  call  a  madman.  That  is,  he  was  sober  enough 
to  see  discreetly  to  the  private  burial  of  Yeiger;  and  further 
more,  to  get  possession  of  the  mysterious  desk  and  key ;  and 
again  had  prudence  enough  not  to  denounce  Clenny,  and  to 
hush  the  whole  affair,  so  far  as  money  could  go,  and  then  to 
lock  up  both  desk  and  key  in  his  own  room. 

But  yet  he  went  into  the  wildest  excesses,  and  threw  off  all 
restraint,  except  those  which  his  own  will  regulated.  His 
brain  was  too  much  congested,  now,  to  open  or  read  the 
curious  manuscript  which  Yeiger  had  told  him  was  contained 
in  that  small  desk. 

The  weekly  suppers  at  his  rooms  had  heretofore  been  at 
tended  by  persons  representing  one  or  the  other  phase  of  a 
more  polished  development.  But  now,  they  had  assumed 
rather  a  quaint  character,  since,  alongside  of  recognised 
gentlemen,  clothed  in  all  the  proprieties  of  elegant  costume, 
the  flash  sporting-characters  about  town,  even  ruffians,  were 
to  be  seen — squalid,  wretched,  and  threadbare — as  they  came 
from  the  lowest  dens  of  brutal  vice. 

Rough,  with  their  tatters  on,  they  sat  beside  the  varnished 
gentlemen,  and  made  a  rude,  ribald  wit  from  out  their  degra 
dation. 

Some  of  these  scenes,  if  we  had  time,  we  would  look  in 
upon  more  curiously ;  but  at  present  we  can  only  follow  to 
others,  which  are  their  consequences ! 

The  winding  up  of  these  parties  almost  invariably  found 
Frank  partially  intoxicated ;  and  frequently,  after  all  were 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  343 

gone,  he  would  go  forth  disguised,  and,  in  the  haunted 
wretchedness  of  his  life,  wander  through  the  great  city, 
stopping  here  and  there  amid  its  gloomiest  alleys  and  low- 
portalled  dens,  to  relieve  the  congestion  of  agony  gathering 
upon  his  heart  and  brain — from  out  those  passionate,  mourn 
ful  memories — by  looking  upon  a  degree  of  suffering  and 
depth  of  degradation  which  was,  in  its  physical  expression  at 
least,  more  profound  and  hideous  than  his  own.  He  gained 
relief  therefrom,  and  that  dumb  wail  within  his  heart  was 
often  shocked  into  profoundest  torpor  by  the  contrast :  he 
felt  almost  a  savage  joy,  that  there  were  others  more  pro 
foundly  accursed  than  himself! 

In  all  this  we  recognise  the  war  going  on  in  Frank's  mind. 
He  had  set  out  in  life  frank  and  confiding,  believing  the  world 
as  noble,  as  generous  as  himself;  and  he  had  been  bitterly 
disappointed  ! 

The  result  had  been  a  common  one — though  one  none  the 
less  wrong :  he  had  lost  all  faith  in  humanity ;  he  had  be 
come  a  scorner  of  the  show-virtue,  because  having,  in  his 
recklessness,  committed  vices,  he  abhorred  the  hypocrisy  of 
concealing  them.  His  nature,  in  fact,  was  passing  through  a 
bitter  ordeal.  Ah  !  would  that  his  angel  Freta  would  arise, 
would  rescue  him  from  himself,  would  restore  him  to  faith,  to 
virtue,  and  to  society ! 

In  this  world  of  mixed  good  and  evil,  the  great  lesson  to 
be  learned  is,  that  the  cant  of  others  is  no  excuse  for  our  own 
excesses.  The  perfidy  of  some  ought  not  to  teach  us  to  de 
spise  all. 

This  was  the  lesson  that  our  hero  was  now  learning.  His 
soul  is  like  a  volcano  in  eruption — lurid,  fiery,  scattering  ruin 
around ;  but  time  will  exhaust  the  torrent,  the  lava  will  cool, 
fertile  fields  will  spring  up,  and  the  whole  landscape  smile. 

It  was  now  several  months  since  the  duel,  and  the  life  of 
Frank  continued,  in  the  general  features  of  its  eccentricities, 
to  be  much  the  same  as  that  we  have  disclosed  before. 


344  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

He  had  taken  the  precaution,  lately,  to  carry  arms  on  h 
person  whenever  he  went  out  at  night — because  he  had  good 
reason  to  believe  that  his  house  was  watched,  and  that  his 
steps  were  dogged  from  place  to  place. 

At  first  he  paid  no  attention  to  the  fact — which  his  in 
domitable  habits  of  observation  had  never  failed  to  note,  in 
spite  of  the  wine  he  drank — that  there  were  always  persons 
in  sight,  loitering  about  the  Park,  when  he  came  out  from  his 
house.  At  first  this  made  no  impression  upon  him,  from  a 
feeling  of  recklessness ;  yet  gradually  the  recollection  of  it 
took  hold  upon  him,  in  spite  of  himself. 

He  found  that,  go  where  he  might,  into  alleys  and  dens 
however  obscure,  he  would  always,  when  he  carne  forth,  de 
tect  that  there  was  somebody  on  the  alert  in  the  neighbour 
hood  ;  and  he  came  finally  to  suspect  that  surveillance  was 
carried  on  even  from  within  the  railings  of  the  Park,  although 
that  was  well  known  to  be  exclusive  ground,  and  could  only 
be  entered  by  members  of  such  families  who  held  keys.  And 
he  frequently  thought  of  using  his  own  key  for  examination. 

Then,  if  he  went  off,  even  at  full  speed,  through  the  streets — 
as  he  sometimes  did — there  seemed  to  follow  him  a  sort  of 
faint,  ghost-like  sound  of  pursuing  steps. 

He  came  at  last  to  notice  this  fact  with  a  degree  of 
nervous  apprehension  which  he  could  scarcely  account  for. 
From  what  quarter  could  this  sort  of  insolent  surveillance 
come? 

He  tried  to  escape  from  this  haunting  sound  of  steps  pur 
suing.  He  would  run  on  for  several  streets,  and  then  dodge 
behind  the  columns  of  some  public  edifice,  or  crouch  beneath 
the  vestibule  of  some  private  building,  and  wait  for  the  pur 
suing  step  to  come  on,  but  always  without  success ;  for  when 
he  stopped,  all  was  silent  as  death. 

At  last,  one  night  he  armed  himself,  changed  his  ordinary 
disguise,  and  thrust  a  pair  of  India-rubber  shoes  into  the 
large  pockets  of  his  rough  overcoat,  and  came  forth  at  the 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  345 

usual  time,  with  the  determination  to  find  out,  at  all  risks, 
who  this  was,  and  what  all  these  presumptuous  dodgings 
meant. 

He  walked  off  with  his  boot-heels  clattering  along  the 
pavement ;  and,  after  turning  down  two  or  three  streets  and 
around  several  squares,  he  became  convinced  that  he  was  fol 
lowed  as  usual. 

He  now  ran  on  at  full  speed  until  he  turned  a  corner,  and 
then  quickly  slipping  on  his  India-rubber  shoes,  glided  back 
with  noiseless  footfall,  keeping  as  much  within  the  shadow 
of  the  lamp  as  possible.  The  night  was  dark,  and  in  a  little 
time  he  heard  the  faint  pattering  of  coming  feet.  He  hid 
behind  the  columns  of  a  church. 

He  had  scarcely  concealed  himself,  when  a  man  came  up 
with  a  cautious,  gliding  step,  as  if  in  fear  that  the  sound  of 
his  own  footfall  would  prevent  him  from  hearing  something 
for  which  he  listened  ahead. 

His  body  was  stooped,  and  his  ear  turned  towards  the 
ground,  or  pavement  rather.  Frank  at  once  recognised  the 
posture  of  an  Indian  pursuing  his  enemy,  or  his  game,  by  the 
nice  sense  of  hearing,  which  detects  the  flying  tread  in  rever 
berations  along  the  earth. 

He  sprang  out  at  once  from  his  concealment  to  grapple 
with  him.  With  all  the  angry  eagerness  of  his  spring,  Frank 
was  not  quick  enough  to  secure  the  person  of  his  pursuer. 

The  man  seemed  to  have  felt  him  coming,  so  alert  was  he 
in  escaping  from  his  clutch ;  and  Frank  only  succeeded  in 
tearing  out  a  fragment  of  the  rough  overcoat  which  he  wore, 
which  remained  in  his  hand. 

The  man  had  succeeded  in  wresting  himself  from  his  im 
perfect  grasp  by  a  movement  as  serpent-like  as  it  was  vigor 
ous  ;  but  in  the  momentary  struggle,  which  occurred  under 
one  of  the  street-lamps,  Frank  thought  he  recognised,  in  the 
pale,  copper  face  there  revealed,  one  which  he  had  good 
cause  to  remember. 


346  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

He  stood  still,  looking  at  the  fragment  he  held  in  his  hand, 
in  blank  confusion  and  amaze,  for  some  moments,  while  the 
receding  footsteps  throbbed  upon  his  startled  ear. 

"Great  God  !"  he  muttered,  "is  SHE  here  ?" 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    INDIAN. 

*THE  discovery  last  made  left  Frank  in  a  condition  of  be 
wilderment  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  realize.  The  man's 
brain  was  literally  stunned  by  the  detonation  of  this  surprise, 
and  the  smothered  heart-fires  within  him  moiled  and  raged 
anew  in  the  blinded  tumult  of  old  tenderness.  All  was  chaos 
with  him  for  a  while — chaos  darkened  indeed — but  storm-like, 
and  wildly  illuminated  here  and  there  with  keen  and  fiercely 
vivid  flashes  of  electric  joy  from  out  the  Past — that  would 
show  as  well  the  dreary  void  yawning  in  the  Present  of  his 
desperate  and  aimless  life.  For  a  long  period  of  gross  and 
self-inflicted  degradation,  his  inner  consciousness  had  stretched 
forth  the  arms  of  sense,  feeling  dumbly  for  a  soul  within 
the  gloom,  and  yet  there  had  been  no  response  until  now — 
and  now  was  ecstasy  that  only  did  not  swoon !  Doubt,  joy, 
hope,  shame! — how  or  by  which  was  he  dizzied?  Was  it  a 
mere  vision,  or  had  the  ineffable  returned  within  his  sphere  ? 
He  had  no  tongue  to  ask,  no  thought  to  reason — he  could 
merely  feel! 

He  had  discovered  a  trace — however  dim — of  Freta.  It 
mattered  not  to  him  how  vague,  it  yet  was  real — how  fleeting, 
its  palpability  was  still  assured.  The  good  angel  had  returned 
\o  his  life,  and  hovered  invisible  about  his  steps !  The  star- 
shine  had  arisen  once  more  to  glimmer  from  its  dark  bed  be 
side  his  heart — faint — however  faintly,  yet  he  felt  the  light ! 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  347 

The  recognition  of  the  face  of  the  Indian  beneath  the  lamp, 
instantaneous  as  it  was,  had  yet  been  perfect.  He  had  had 
good  reason  for  remembering  those  strange,  wan  features,  and 
dark,  ghastly,  hollow  eyes.  They  had  been  the  first  that 
shone  upon  him  when  he  aroused  from  the  death-like  stupor 
which  followed  upon  his  being  choked  down  with  the  lasso,  as 
he  rode  joyously  beside  Freta. 

He  had  found  himself  on  board  a  steamboat  descending  the 
Missouri  River,  with  this  Indian  face  bending  over  him,  and 
he  remembered  well  this  man  as  a  favourite  serviteur  of  Freta's, 
who  had  always  accompanied  her  on  her  wild  rides  at  a  re 
spectful  distance,  to  guard  her  from  impending  dangers.  He 
remembered  as  well,  too,  the  tumult  of  rage  and  tenderness 
commingled  which  this  recognition  had  caused  him ;  for,  re 
garding  Freta  as  in  someway  a  party  to  the  foul  treachery 
of  which  he  had  been  the  victim,  his  heart  had  struggled  des 
perately  within  him  to  forswear  its  faith,  and  curse  her  in  his 
wrath;  yet  the  presence  of  this  man,  whom  he  knew  to  have 
been  much  trusted  by  her,  had  suggested  vague  and  happy 
doubts  as  to  her  wilful  agency  in  the  grievous  wrong  he  had 
endured ; — and  then  his  sudden  reappearance  here  in  the  great 
city — his  close  haunting  upon  his  track  which  he  had  detected 
— had  called  up,  ah,  a  world  of  blissful  mysteries,  to  which  he 
dared  not  give  a  name,  even  within  himself!  He  now  re 
membered,  too,  that  there  had  been  in  the  face  of  this  Indian 
an  expression  of  settled  and  yearning  melancholy,  expressive 
of  sentiment  more  refined  and  spiritualized  than  he  had 
ever  supposed  the  coarse  organization  of  the  race  permitted. 
This  unusual  character  had  therefore  been  strongly  impressed 
upon  his  mind,  apart  from  the  fact  of  the  Indian  having  been 
his  close  and  constant  nurse  during  a  considerable  period  of 
illness  which  had  followed.  And  then  there  was  another  cha 
racteristic  which  he  vividly  remembered,  which  was,  that  this 
man  had  always,  and  with  marked  pertinacity,  refused,  in 
seeming  at  least — to  understand  a  single  phrase  of  the  Englibh 


348  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

tongue ;  in  regard  to  the  most  common  terms,  he  remained 
inexorably  mute — and  would  only  afford  apparent  recognition, 
when  addressed  in  his  own  tongue  or  by  gestures,  which  con 
stituted  his  favourite  mode  of  communication  with  others. 

Frank  could  not  help  thinking  it  strange  that  this  young 
Indian,  who  had  for  years  been  in  constant  intercourse  with 
Freta  and  her  father,  should  yet  refuse  any  recognition  of 
the  sounds  of  the  tongue  in  which  they  habitually  spoke.  He 
had,  however,  marked  it  as  a  proud  and  sulky  peculiarity  of 
the  Indian  race,  rather  than  in  any  suspicious  light.  Although 
the  man  had  watched  over  him  until  his  complete  recovery, 
at  New  Orleans,  with  a  zeal  and  carefulness  which  seemed 
almost  religious,  yet  he  had  there  suddenly  disappeared,  leav 
ing  with  Frank  not  even  the  slightest  trace  of  the  means  or 
manner  of  his  exit.  Since  that  time,  even  amid  the  wildest 
excesses  of  his  debauched  life,  the  image  of  this  singular  In 
dian  had  frequently  occurred  to  him,  as  constituting  the  con 
necting  link  between  him  and  the  troubled  though  delicious 
Past.  That  glancing  recognition  could  not  therefore  now 
have  failed  him. 

He  was  sure,  and  his  heart  made  the  assurance  doubly  sure, 
that  it  was  Freta's  closest  serviteur  he  had  seen,  and  that,  by 
some  indescribable  process  of  sympathy,  Freta  must  be  near 
— near!  near! 

And  why  near  ? — Watching  over  him  ? — through  her  agent 
• — or,  it  might  be — tumult  of  tenderness ! — through  her  own 
eyes.  It  might  be  that  from  some  window  that  overlooked 
his  daily  life,  she  even  saw  him  now  and  then,  and  in  her 
proper  flesh. 

Oh,  ecstasy ! — might  it  be  so  ?  Might  it  be,  that  all  the 
yearnings  of  his  inner  life  would  yet  find  their  reality — that 
treachery,  gloom,  and  hate  had  not  yet  overcome  the  beautiful 
within  him  ?  He  became  instantly  a  new  man — the  trammels 
of  habit  were  thrown  off;  and  the  aimless  energies  he  had 
peen  dissipating  were  concentrated  upon  a  single  purpose — to 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  349 

find  Freta — to  look  once  more  upon  that  face  that  had  so 
thrilled  and  charmed  his  life  ! 

This  Indian  must  be  watched  in  turn,  until  some  clue  to  the 
locality  of  Freta's  dwelling  might  be  obtained  through  his 
movements.  Days  and  nights  of  sleepless  vigilance  were  at 
length  so  far  rewarded  as  to  have  enabled  him  to  trace  this 
man  to  the  back  entrance  of  a  large  dwelling  near  his  own. 
He  saw  him  approach  it  cautiously,  and  with  a  bounding  heart 
assured  himself  that  he  had  entered  noiselessly.  Here  at 
least  seemed  a  discovery — a  great  point  of  certainty  gained. 
Here  must  be  the  home  of  Freta,  and,  as  he  had  at  first 
wildly  conjectured — near  his  own  !  Ah,  joyful  reality ! — and 
then  it  might  all  be  true ! — he  had  not  been  demented  quite ! 
His  soul  had  indeed  been  electrified  into  a  seer-like  vision; 
and  now  his  fate  was  within  those  walls — it  had  been  upon 
him  ever,  a  vague  but  mighty  and  resistless  shadow;  and  now 
it  was  to  take  incarnate  form  again — become  a  substance  of 
reality,  and  he  had  found  for  it  "a  local  habitation."  Only 
those  walls  divided  them — he  should  see  her  to-morrow  face 
to  face,  and  all  mysteries  and  doubts  should  banish  before  the 
radiant  beamings  of  that  face !  He  held  down  his  heart  for 
joy,  and  mused  dreamily  beneath  the  moon. 

All  that  Frank  previously  knew  of  this  house  amounted  to 
nothing  more  than  that  it  was  known  to  be  occupied,  though 
the  inmates  were  seldom  seen,  and  were  supposed  to  be 
foreigners.  It  had  not  once  occurred  to  him  that  there 
might  be  any  difficulty  in  obtaining  entrance.  Why  should 
he  ?  Walls  and  doors  were  no  barriers  to  be  thought  of  now ! 
His  life  was  up — his  will  aroused — why  should  he  think  of 
physical  obstructions,  or  forms  and  customs,  as  between  him 
and  his  joy?  His  feet  were  scarce  on  earth  now,  and  why 
should  he  regard  the  more  earthly  obstructions  in  his  way? 
His  first  attempt,  however,  sufficed  to  wake  him  promptly 
enough  from  this  momentary  delusion.  To  be  sure,  when 

gruffly  informed  by  a  burly  and  insolent  servant,  who  slammed 
2E 


850  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

the  door  in  his  face  at  the  same  time,  that  he  "knowed  no 
such  'oman"  as  she  whom  he  named,  he  felt  for  an  instant  as 
if  making  a  breathless  descent  to  the  common  globe  again ; 
yet,  when  the  jolt  was  over,  he  smiled,  though  his  heart  felt 
deadly  sick,  and,  choking  down  the  upheaving  within  him,  he 
walked  leisurely  away ;  coolly  bethinking  him  of  the  absurdity 
ho  had  committed,  and  of  the  new  measures  to  secure  him 
against  failure  in  the  future. 

Ridiculous ! — how  could  he  have  expected  it  to  be  other 
wise! — of  course  she  was  under  restraint!  How  could  he 
have  expected  that  any  message  from  himself  would  be  per 
mitted  to  reach  her !  He  would  seek  out  this  ruffian  jailor  of 
hers — Thomson  was  said  to  be  his  name,  and  he  was  called 
an  Englishman — and  find  out  something  first  from  him,  if 
possible — if  not,  demand  an  interview,  which  if  he  also  re 
fused,  should  finally  be  compelled  by  the  intervention  of  the 
police,  from  which  he  should  obtain  a  search-warrant  for  her 
rescue.  In  the  mean  time,  he  would  address  her  through  the 
post,  and  watch  the  house  continually.  These  and  a  thou 
sand  other  resolutions  Frank  endeavoured  to  carry  into  effect 
— but,  with  all  his  vigilance  and  energy,  with  about  like  suc 
cess  in  each.  He  could  obtain  no  satisfaction  whatever  from 
the  stolid  or  astonished  Englishman — he  could  not  well  judge 
which.  His  letters  remained  unanswered— his  vigils  brought 
no  result ;  and,  therefore,  he  was  compelled  to  perceive  that 
any  attempt  at  forcible  entry  upon  the  premises  would  be  re 
garded  by  the  very  police  whose  intervention  he  had  thought 
to  seek,  as  absurdly  quixotic,  if  not  criminal. 

Baffled  in  these  directions,  but  by  no  means  discouraged 
or  convinced  withal,  Frank  at  once  determined,  if  possible, 
to  out-general  the  young  Indian,  who  had  kept  himself  as  in 
visible  during  all  these  efforts  as  if  those  silent  walls  through 
which  he  had  beheld  him  disappear  had  been  sealed  upon  him 
for  ever.  The  Indian  had  somehow  obtained  the  advantage 
of  position  of  him,  and  warily  kept  himself  out  of  view.  Re- 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  351 

solved  to  throw  him  off  his  guard,  Frank  suddenly  and  secretly 
disappeared  from  the  city,  first  closing  up  his  house,  and 
sending  off  his  servants,  as  if  the  chase  had  either  been  given 
up  in  despair,  or  he  had  departed  upon  some  false  scent. 

This  cost  him  a  sufficiently  severe  struggle  indeed,  but  he 
heroically  stood  it  out  until,  as  he  thought,  the  certainty  of 
his  absence  had  become  sufficiently  assured  to  throw  even  the 
Indian  off  his  guard :  he,  in  the  mean  time,  through  an  un 
suspected  agent,  kept  himself  informed  of  the  general  move 
ments  of  the  household.  When  things  were  fully  ripe,  Frank 
entered  the  city  carefully  disguised,  one  night,  and  approach 
ing  with  circumspection  the  scene,  discovered  the  Indian  at 
his  old  accustomed  post,  within  the  privileged  railings  of  St. 
John's  Park.  Provided  with  his  own  key,  Frank  cautiously 
entered,  and  concealing  himself  within  the  abounding  shrub 
bery,  he  glided  in  noiseless  movement  upon  the  man,  who, 
with  body  cowering  in  an  attitude  singularly  expressive  of 
dejection,  sat  with  face  turned  toward  his  closed  mansion. 
Frank  stood  watching  this  motionless  form  for  a  few  moments 
with  feelings  indescribably  agitated  by  curiosity  in  regard 
to  the  meaning  of  what  he  had  seen  and  now  saw  in  the  ex 
pression  of  this  strange  being — together  with  eagerness  to 
hold  him  once  fairly  within  his  grasp,  and  wrest  from  him,  by 
force  if  it  must  be,  the  secret  which  he  felt  assured  was  held 
by  him. 

Thus  trembling  on  tiptoe  he  stood,  then  sprang  upon  the 
man,  clasping  him  about  with  an  embrace  that  not  all  the 
startled  strength  of  savage  energies  could  break — for  though 
the  stern  and  breathless  struggle  held  long  in  silent  fury,  yet 
the  Indian,  who  seemed  to  be  somewhat  emaciated,  appeared 
finally  sinking  from  exhaustion,  as  his  chin  fell  upon  his  breast, 
and  his  whole  frame  quivered  as  in  an  ague-fit.  His  hands 
dropped  listlessly  to  his  side  as  Frank  slowly  released  his 
terrible  grasp,  and  the  two  men,  panting  for  breath,  stood  re  - 
garding  each  other  with  cold,  dilated  gaze.  There  was  nei- 


352  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

ther  hate  nor  rage  in  the  expression :  they  simply  bore  them 
selves  as  two  old  gladiators  would,  who  paused  to  rest  for  a 
moment  in  the  arena.  But  the  struggle  which  now  com 
menced  was  not  again  of  physical  forces,  but  of  will.  The 
Indian  made  no  further  effort  to  escape,  but  stood  sullenly 
obdurate;  while  Frank,  with  the  fiery  eagerness  of  the  con 
queror,  demanded,  through  gestures,  the  truth  as  to  the  resi 
dence  of  Freta. 

The  Indian,  with  folded  arms,  made  no  reply,  but  continued 
to  watch  his  eyes  with  steady  gaze.  Frank  threatened  and 
raved — but  all  in  vain.  The  man's  face  and  figure  were  like 
marble.  At  last  the  young  lover,  rendered  wild  by  the  agony 
of  these  continued  delays — this  last  and  most  harrowing  baffle, 
sobbed  aloud,  beating  his  breast  for  the  wo.  Then  seizing 
the  Indian,  shook  him  as  if  he  would  have  annihilated  him — 
while,  with  streaming  eyes,  and  passionate,  imploring  gestures, 
he  pointed  mutely  toward  the  suspected  house. 

The  Indian  shuddered  through  his  whole  frame — while  for 
an  instant  his  dry  eyes  glared  upon  Frank  a  sultry  look  of 
furious  hate,  then  melting  into  softness,  he  suddenly,  as  if  his 
tongue  were  now  by  some  miracle  first  loosed — 

"Shethar!" 

Frank  could  scarcely  restrain  the  shout  of  exultation — 
forgetting  in  his  excitement  the  strangeness  of  the  fact,  that 
the  Indian  had  just  now  for  the  first  time  found  his  tongue — 

"  She  is  there!  Oh,  you  will  make  me  to  see  her?  I  will 
give  you  much  money — I  will  make  you  rich!" 

The  Indian  with  a  sudden  gesture  threw  off  Frank's  grasp, 
drew  himself  proudly  up,  and  regarded  him  with  that  peculiar 
deadly  look  which  we  have  already  noticed.  Frank  sawr  he 
had  made  a  mistake,  and  it  instantly  recalled  all  that  he  had 
observed  in  this  man's  remarkable  bearing;  and  now  it  came 
upon  him  like  a  flash — that  this  unusual  expression,  which  he 
had  so  often  observed,  might  have  a  direction  similar  to  that 
with  which  his  own  life  was  filled.  Fool !  not  to  have  thought 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  353 

of  this  before !  How  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  How  could  any 
living  thing  approach  her  but  with  the  same  results.  Had 
not  the  very  creatures  of  the  wilderness  where  he  had  found 
her,  loved  her  ?  Had  not  the  very  wild-flowers  bowed  their 
heads  in  adoration  as  she  passed  ?  Had  not  the  stars  been 
"sicklied  o'er"  that  she  came  not  forth,  when  the  moon  paled 
for  her  sweet  presence?  Could  this  free  child  of  nature 
then  escape  the  pure  enthralment?  Could  he,  day  by  day, 
live  within  the  sphere  that  radiated  only  love  and  holy  joy, 
and  not  have  yielded  to  the  soft  enchantment?  It  could  not 
be !  He  now  first  realized  this  being  with  whom  he  strove  ! 
Theirs  was  one  common  bond! — and,  without  one  jealous 
pangvhis  heart  yearned  toward  him  in  this  new  fraternity  of 
worship. 

His  whole  manner  changed  at  once,  and,  grasping  the  man's 
hand,  he  exclaimed — 

"Indian  love  Freta!  Indian  my  brother!" 
The  man  crouched  for  a  moment,  and  bent  himself  nearly 
double,  as  if  shot  through  the  heart! — his  secret  had  been 
discovered ! — but  with  a  deep  groan  he  now  lifted  himself, 
and  stood  erect — his  face  beaming  with  an  expression  Frank 
had  never  seen  upon  it.  It  now  expressed  all  of  frankness, 
eagerness,  and  tenderness  combined — while,  with  vehemence 
almost  incoherent,  he  proceeded  to  inform  Frank  that  Freta 
was  actually  under  durance  in  the  house  which  he  had 
suspected  to  contain  her — that  he  was  the  only  person  with 
whom  she  was  permitted  to  communicate  freely — that  he  had 
only  been  permitted  to  approach  her  thus  under  the  pretence 
on  his  part  of  acting  as  a  spy  on  her  movements — that, 
playing  this  part,  he  had  kept  her  constantly  informed  of 
Frank's  outgoings  and  incomings — that,  learning  of  his  reck 
less  life  in  New  York,  she  had  only  been  content  while  she 
knew  that  the  Indian  followed  close  upon  him,  watching  his 
every  step.  To  Frank's  vehement  questioning  as  to  who 

they  were  who  held  her  under  this  rigid  surveillance,  the  In- 
2E2  23 


354  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

dian  only  shook  his  head  mournfully,  but  made  no  reply;  at 
once  seemingly  overwhelmed  by  a  sudden  influx  of  feeling — 
the  Indian  exhorted  Frank,  in  his  broken  tongue,  to  go  to 
her — expressing  in  his  picturesque  gesticulation,  "that  she 
was  dying !  dying  of  a  broken  heart — and  that  he  alone  could 
rescue  her!" 

The  Indian  now  again  sank  into  a  brooding  silence,  from 
which  Frank  laboured,  for  a  long  time  in  vain,  to  arouse  him. 
For,  by  no  means  yet  satisfied,  he  wished  to  arrange  with  him 
the  proper  arid  necessary  expedients  for  obtaining  the  so 
much  desired  interview  with  Freta.  The  Indian  would  only 
shake  his  head,  and  repeat  she  had  forbidden  it ! — until  at 
last,  roused  again  by  Frank's  imploring  despair,  he  resumed  his 
late  bearing  and  energies.  Again  he  proceeded,  frequently  in 
terrupting  himself  with  the  exclamation — "  She  die — must  be 
done!" — to  explain  to  Frank  the  difficulties  which  beset  any 
attempts  at  ingress,  and  to  arrange  with  him  a  plan  by  which 
they  might  all  be  set  aside,  and  an  interview  be  obtained  for 
him  in  the  morning  at  eleven  o'clock.  Having  made  himself 
fully  understood,  the  Indian  darted  suddenly  away  beneath 
the  shadows,  and  in  another  moment  Frank  heard  the  iron 
clank  of  a  door  of  the  park. 

His  heart  and  brain  were  too  full — and  when  silence  had 
returned  he  sank  upon  the  grass,  where  he  lay  for  hours  press 
ing  his  throbbmg  temples  against  the  dewy  sod. 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  355 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    INTERVIEW. 

THE  next  morning  the  plan  of  the  interview  succeeds, 
and  at  eleven  o'clock  Frank  has  passed  the  hitherto  invincible 
portals,  and  finds  himself,  with  a  heart  that  fluttered — ah, 
how  wildly! — in  the  presence  of  Freta  herself.  He  was  all 
dishevelled  as  he  came  from  his  night-watch  under  the 
heavy  dews  of  the  park.  His  hair,  damp  and  dark,  hung  elf- 
wise  about  his  ashen  cheeks,  and  his  great  hollow  eyes  glowed 
with  an  illumination  that  seemed  almost  madness.  He  threw 
off  the  rough  outer  garb  of  his  disguise  as  the  Indian  threw 
open  the  door  of  a  large  darkened  room  and  retired.  He 
trembled  a  moment  with  faintness  on  the  threshold,  then 
entered  the  deep  silence  on  tiptoe,  lest  an  echo  of  the  sacred 
stillness  that  reigned  there  should  be  disturbed.  The  room 
at  first  seemed  unoccupied  save  by  a  few  articles  of  costly 
furniture — when  in  the  most  shaded  extremity,  he  detected 
a  pure  and  delicately  small,  white  hand,  that  seemed  to  lie 
upon  the  folds  of  a  dove-coloured  silk  drapery  that  lay  upon  an 
ottoman.  His  heart  bounded  convulsively,  and  stealing  softly 
across  the  room,  in  another  moment  he  knelt  and  pressed 
his  trembling  lips  thereon.  The  hand  was  slowly  withdrawn, 
and  with  a  calm  and  listless  movement,  the  figure  arose  to  a 
sitting  posture.  Her  eyes  were  half  closed,  and  she  was  wail 
as  death.  She  gradually  opened  them  as  her  gaze  met  his 
where  he  knelt  there  with  lips  half  parted.  Like  the  sun's 
arrows,  the  devouring  splendour  struck  her  to  the  heart,  for  she 
knew  not  of  his  coming,  and,  with  a  faint  cry  of  childlike 
ecstasy,  she  swooned  upon  his  neck,  her  cold  cheek  nestled 


356  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

against  his,  and  her  arm  wound  about  his  neck  in  a  convul 
sive  clasp.  Bewildered  with  the  burden  of  a  single  sense, 
Frank  thought  not  of  other  relief  but  kissing  her  back  to  life. 
When  it  came  at  last,  and  those  great  blue  eyes,  swimming 
in  tenderness,  trembled  to  full  opening  upon  him,  and  became 
fixed  in  one  large,  liquid,  steadfast  gaze,  he  felt  his  inmost 
soul  go  up  into  them,  and  light  and  life  transferred  into  those 
still  orbs.  Long  they  gazed  thus,  while  the  Present  seemed 
lost  to  both.  Together  they  were  all  unconscious  of  the  Past, 
and  a  soft  smile  would  flit — ah,  how  sweetly! — across  the 
wan  transparency  of  her  face,  as  some  gay  bright  image  would 
arise : — Black  Hawk  and  the  panther,  her  wild-wood  pets — 
Fanny,  the  fawn — the  gallop  across  the  rainbow-hued  prairie, 
the  wild-flower  beds,  and  back  again  upon  the  circle — that 
strange  moment  when  their  souls  leaped  and  flamed  to  meet 
each  other  as  they  rode  beneath  the  moon  on  the  night  of 
their  first  meeting.  Then  came  the  dark  shadow  of  that  sud 
den  and  frightful  separation  by  the  lasso,  when  Black  Hawk, 
who  had  been  first  purposely  wounded  from  the  thicket  by 
an  arrow,  ran  away  with  her, — when  the  shudder  from  the 
trance  into  which  she  had  fallen  recalled  her  with  a  cry  of  ter 
ror  to  the  present,  as  at  the  same  moment  a  door  of  the 
apartment  swung  rudely  open. 

Frank  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  the  blood  rushed  fiercely  to 
his  brow,  as  he  saw  Clenny,  in  his  white  cravat,  dressed  in  the 
utmost  precision  of  fashion,  advancing  directly  toward  them. 
There  had  been  a  slight  corrugation  of  this  man's  brow,  and 
the  slightest  perceptible  flush  had  darted  across  his  smooth 
fair  cheek,  as  the  scene  presented  itself  to  him  on  his  opening 
the  door.  But  now  his  brow  was  as  impassive  as  marble,  and 
his  smile  as  bland  as  ever,  while  he  proceeded  in  formal  terms 
to  apologize  for  interrupting  what  he  termed  a  pleasing  scene. 

"A  renewal  of  your  acquaintance  with — my  betrothed, 
Mr.  Carter  !  Ah,  I  remember  you  were  then  quite  like  very 
young  people  will  be  together — affectionate — very !  You  had 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          357 

both  of  you  nothing  else  to  do  out  there  in  the  wilderness.  Let 
me  see  you  seated,  Mr.  Carter !  The  health  of  my  betrothed  is 
rather  delicate  at  present !"  And  placing  a  chair  for  Frank, 
he  was  proceeding  to  push  himself  between  him  and  Freta. 

Frank  listened  to  the  cool  effrontery  of  this  speech :  at  the 
word  betrothed  his  eye  sought  that  of  Freta,  who  had  sunk 
back,  with  her  head  upon  the  pillow  of  the  lounge.  The 
reply  to  his  appeal  was  a  look  of  such  utter  and  hopeless 
despair,  that  Frank  felt  that  the  pretensions  of  this  man 
could  not  be  entirely  groundless :  however  it  came  about, 
she  was  clearly  in  this  man's  power.  He  had  not  once  taken 
his  eye  from  hers,  and  as  Clenny  made  this  last  movement,  as 
if  to  interpose  himself  between  them,  Frank's  frame,  although 
his  face  remained  unmoved,  suddenly  dilated  with  such  an 
expression  of  resistless  passion,  that  Freta,  with  a  mingled 
expression  of  tenderness  and  terror,  lifted  her  hand  and  ex 
claimed — 

"No  !  no  !     Do  not  touch  him  !     It  is  so !" 

"  Ah !"  uttered  Frank  with  a  deep  exhalation  from  his 
oppressed  lungs — then  turning  to  Clenny,  who  had  taken  his 
position  nearest  Freta,  and  now  faced  him  with  a  cold  half 
smile,  he  bowed,  and  with  perfect  ease,  saying — 

"  I  was  not  at  first  aware,  sir,  of  your  relations  to  this  lady, 
you  will  therefore  pardon  my  very  natural  surprise  at  meet 
ing  you  here.  You  will,  no  doubt,  however,  my  dear  sir,  per 
mit  me  the  pleasure  of  renewing,  at  an  early  date,  the  long 
interrupted  intercourse  with  my  old  friend,  Newnon  Clenny!' 

"With  pleasure,  sir!"  said  Clenny;  "I  shall  be  delighted 
at  the  opportunity  of  such  renewal !  Shall  it  be  this  evening, 
at  three?" 

"At  three,  at  our  old  rendezvous,"  said  Frank,  bowing  him 
self  toward  the  door.  For  one  moment  he  looked  back  at 
Freta — she  had  raised  her  head !  the  wild  and  mournful  tender 
ness  of  that  last  gaze,  darkened  as  it  was  by  the  shadow  of  a 
mortal  terror — could  he  ever  forget  it  ?  Alas,  poor  Frank ! 


858          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ARRANGEMENTS   FOR   A   VOYAGE. 

AT  three  o'clock,  according  to  appointment,  the  young  men 
met ;  and  as  it  was  yet  too  early  for  the  Battery  to  be  much 
occupied,  they  sauntered  carelessly  down  Broadway  toward 
that  famous  promenade,  conversing  indifferently  as  they  went 
upon  the  passing  scenes.  Arrived  there,  and  selecting  the 
most  unfrequented  walk,  they  turned  in.  They  were  now 
alone.  ,"  Clenny,"  said  Frank  quietly,  "  you  remember  our 
conversation  one  night  at  the  St.  Charles'  Hotel,  just  before 
we  set  off  on  that  hunting  excursion  to  the  West." 

"  Yes,  I  remember  it  well — and  that  you  talked  a  great 
deal  of  nonsense,  too  !" 

"  No  doubt !  I  merely  wish  to  recall  it  to  you,  however. 
I  happened,  by  some  amazing  combinations  of  chance,  or  the 
resistless  attraction  of  some  law  of  affinities,  to  have  been  led 
directly  through  the  vicissitudes  of  our  adventure,  to  the  forest 
home  of  her  who  was  the  incarnation  of  that  ideal  of  which 
I  spoke — and  whom  I  had  vainly  sought  through  life,  as  one 
blindly  seeketh  for  his  flitting  angel  through  his  dream." 

"  Yes,  yes  !"  said  Clenny,  somewhat  pettishly.  "  I  know, 
as  a  very  romantic  young  gentleman  knight-errant,  seeking 
for  his  Dulcinea  among  buffaloes  and  greasy  Indian  squaws, 
you  chanced  to  meet  with  a  very  young  and  silly  girl,  whom 
you,  in  your  chivalric  honour,  were  bound  to  recognise  as 
neither  more  nor  less  than  the  veritable  Lady  Del  Toboso, 
and  to  adore  accordingly.  But  it  won't  do,  friend  Frank! 
Such  nonsense" 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  359 

"  Hark  ye,  friend  Newnon  !  No  prosing,  if  you  please ! 
There  have  been  certain  passages  between  I  and  you,  since 
the  time  when  I  could  afford  to  listen  to  such.  For  one  thing, 
there  is  a  certain  unavenged  blow!  Hey?  You  attempted 
to  stop  my  hand  when  I  was  stripping  the  body  of  your  trai 
torous  confederate,  to  exhibit  the  chain-mail  which  he  wore 
next  his  skin !" 

"Well,  sir — what  then?"  drawled  Clenny  in  a  deliberate 
tone,  turning  his  eye  with  a  quick,  keen  flash  upon  Frank. 

"Oh,  nothing,  nothing,"  said  Frank  with  a  smile,  and  look 
ing  carelessly  about.  "  I  only  wanted  you  too  hold  this  in 
mind,  when  you  feel  good-natured  enough  to  commence  with 
your  confounded  and  perpetual  snarling  at  my  acts,  sayings, 
and  opinions." 

"Never  fear,  Frank,  that  the  account  will  ever  lose  any 
thing  in  my  keeping !" 

"  Ah !  that's  the  way  to  talk  !  Now  I  love  you,  *  mine 
ancient.'  But  this  last  item,  Newnon,  makes  it  rather  heavy 
to  run  longer,  does  it  not?" 

"Pray  explain!" 

"With  pleasure,  sir.  You  have,  by  'treason  and  strata 
gem,'  or  what  not  device  of  your  black  spirit,  robbed  me  of 
my  young  love — of  Freta — or,  if  you  have  not  already  done 
so,  it  is  your  fixed  purpose  so  to  do! — Is  it  not?" 

"It  is  my  purpose  to  marry  Freta,  most  certainly — call  it 
robbery  or  what  not!" 

"  Yes !  Well,  it  is  equally  my  purpose  that  marry  Freta  you 
shall  not!  I  shall  require  her  at  your  hands,  at  your  peril!" 

"  Pooh,  boy !  I  am  no  driveller  of  La  Mancha,  whatever 
you  may  imagine  yourself  to  be.  At  my  peril,  forsooth!" 

"Look  you,  Newnon — my  blow  has  already  branded  you 
as  a  caitiff  and  an  assassin — and  I  will  at  once  here,  and  on 
the  spot,  hide  you  as  a  hound,  if  your  language  to  me  is  not 
more  measured!" 

Here  Frank  stopped,  while  the  big  veins  knotted  on  his 


360  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

temples.  The  eyes  of  the  two  men  met,  and  glinted  against 
each  other  for  one  steadfast  minute.  At  length  Frank  said 
in  a  low  tone — 

"It's  no  use,  Newnon,  we've  got  to  fight.  Death  alone 
can  decide  this  issue  between  us.  I  feel  that  you  have  no 
purpose  to  give  her  up — and  you  feel  as  well  that  I  have  no 
purpose  of  relinquishing  her  to  you!" 

"But  suppose  I  will  not  fight?  The  game  is  in  my  own 
hands — I  should  be  a  fool  to  do  so !  I  have  other  modes  of 
securing  my  ends.  No  wise  man  risks  his  life  for  what  can 
be  secured  without  it!" 

"  Yes,  you  will  fight,  Newnon — and  by  this  sign  I  tell  you, 
I  know  that  you  will  fight !  She  loves  me — and  hates  you ! 
While  you  love  her,  and,  as  you  know,  hopelessly  while  I  live. 
You  will,  therefore,  never  brook  my  living !" 

"Ay!  if  I  only  knew  what  you  say  to  be  true,  I  might 
oblige  you,  my  friend!"  muttered  Clenny,  grinding  his  teeth. 
"Bah!  it  was  only  a  girlish  romance! — Is  it  not  so?" 

"Console  yourself!"  continued  Frank  quietly.  "But  all 
was  renewed  between  us  in  that  interview  which  you  so 
opportunely  interrupted  with  your  villanous  politeness!" 

Clenny  stamped  his  foot  upon  the  ground,  and  his  teeth 
clanked  as  they  came  together. 

"Yes,  it  is  vain  to  console  yourself.  I  know  you  for  a 
villain,  Clenny,  as  you  are  very  well  aware — that  you  would 
take  a  man's  life  by  treachery  as  coolly  as  you  would  rub  out 
a  decimal  from  your  infernal  mathematics.  I  know  that  you 
have  a  secret  power — that  you  wield  a  terrible,  and  even 
mysterious  force,  that  could  at  any  time  be  brought  to  bear 
upon  my  extermination — and  I  might  fear  you — but  that  I 
know  you  better  than  your  confederates,  perhaps.  I  know 
you  to  be  brave  as  steel — game  to  the  very  backbone — and 
proud  as  Lucifer.  With  all  your  cunning,  you  are  more  of  the 
wolf  than  the  fox!  There  are  passions  in  which  you  will 
know  no  fear,  and  can  brook  no  rival 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  361 

"Sagacious!" 

"Yes,  sagacious.  It  is  by  this  sign  of  personal  courage, 
which  redeems  you  from  utter  monstrosity  back  to  common 
humanity — that  I  do  not  fear  your  secret  power — and  that  I 
know  you  will  fight." 

"Upon  my  word,  Master  Frank,  you  are  appreciative! 
You  reason  cogently.  I  have  half  a  mind  to  admire  your 
logic !  But,  pray,  how  can  what  you  seem  to  think  such 
reasonable  expectations  be  realized  without  entailing  a  degree 
of  notoriety  which  would  be  disagreeably  enhanced  by  the 
late  incident  to  which  you  are  pleased  to  refer,  and  in  which 
we  were  both  conspicuously  prominent?" 

"My  little  yacht  lies  here  at  the  wharf,  and  is  equipped 
for  a  voyage.  There  is,  as  you  say,  quite  enough  notoriety 
connected  with  us  already,  concerning  late  events.  Come 
on  board  to-morrow.  A  short  and  pleasant  voyage  to  the 
Gulf  will  take  us  to  a  country  you  wot  of — where  they  are 
used  to  these  things." 

"Ah,  I  understand!  just  the  thing — I  will  be  with  you. 
We  manage  this  matter  between  ourselves?" 

"  Of  course ! — of  course !  We  go  alone — no  necessity  for 
any  parade  between  old  friends.  Come  on  board  at  two 
o'clock  precisely."  And  Frank  turned  upon  his  heel  as  if  to 
leave. 

"Ha !  no  treachery,  now,  Frank !"  said  Clenny  with  a  raised 
voice,  smiling  strangely  at  the  same  time. 

"No  fear  of  you,  at  any  rate!  I  know  you,  Ne wnon! 
Remember  the  time ! — two  o'clock !  I  must  send  my  crew  on 
board."  And  then  the  two  young  men  parted. 


362          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   CONVERSATION. 

IN  order  to  the  full  comprehension  of  the  occurrences  and 
characters  of  our  narrative,  it  becomes  necessary  to  turn  back 
upon  the  track  of  years. 

Long  prior  to  the  scene  last  given  between  Frank  and 
Newnon  Clenny,  the  two  young  men  were  sitting  one  night 
in  a  room  of  the  St.  Charles'  Hotel,  smoking.  It  was  late, 
for  they  had  already  been  conversing  long  and  earnestly. 
They  had  come  to  a  dead  pause,  and  for  at  least  five  minutes 
had  been  puffing  away  most  industriously,  and  staring  absently 
through  the  window,  in  front  of  which  a  wan,  struggling  moon 
seemed  to  have  much  ado  to  keep  the  track  amidst  the  ugly, 
black  masses  rapidly  driving  against  its  keen,  shining  prow. 
At  last  Clenny,  the  elder  of  the  two,  tipped  the  white  ashes 
from  the  end  of  his  segar  on  the  point  of  his  boot,  which 
rested  on  the  window-sill,  nearly  as  high  as  his  head,  and 
broke  the  silence. 

"The  fact  of  the  business  is,  Frank  Carter,  that  this 
fastidiousness  of  yours  amounts  to  nothing  but  a  miserable 
affectation." 

"Affectation  !  the  deuse  !  Clenny,  are  you  demented.  You 
call  it  affectation,  do  you  ? — to  be  disgusted  with  a  woman 
who  eats  beef  heavily  twice  a  day,  and  at  a  lunch,  too,  for 
all  I  know?" 

"  I  do  ;  and  the  most  egregious  affectation,  too.  This  is  a 
mere  morbid  whim.  You  have  more  common  sense  than  to 
be  in  earnest  about  breaking  off  an  affair  which  has  progressed 
BO  far  and  promises  so  well  as  this,  simply  because  the  wo- 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          363 

man  has  an  appetite.  This  is  namby-pamby  stuff,  and  might 
do  for  some  open-collared  Byron-struck  sop  o'  moonshine  of 
a  country  village,  who  flourishes  a  whalebone  cane,  and  fills 
a  corner  in  the  country  paper  with  rhymes  of  breezes,  tresses, 
wooing,  cooing,  loves  and  doves,  and  signs  himself  Alonzo ; 
but  for  you,  who  pretend  to  some  calibre,  it  is  utterly  pre 
posterous." 

"  But  be  reasonable,  man.  I  actually  see  her  habitually 
eat  more  beefsteak  for  breakfast  than  you — and  you  are  no 
mincer." 

"  Pish, !  Frank,  this  is  coarse  as  well  as  ridiculous.  What 
business  have  you  with  what  the  woman  eats?  Does  that 
prevent  her  from  being  pretty,  witty,  and  rich?" 

"Yes!  it  prevents  her  being  pretty  and  witty  at  least." 

"  What  are  you  talking  about  ?  Isn't  she  the  belle  unri 
valled  of  New  Orleans — the  scourge  and  terror  of  all  bores — 
more  feared  and  famous  for  her  wit  and  satire  than  any  wo 
man  of  the  day  ?  Besides,  what  connection  is  there  between 
beauty  and  wit,  and  beefsteak  for  breakfast?" 

"  A  much  greater  affinity  than  between  the  true  state  of 
the  case  and  that  which  you  have  described.  She  is  not  a 
wit  or  a  satirist;  but  in  good  honest  English,  she  is  coarse 
and  unfeeling,  as  every  other  woman  is  who  is  so  given  to 
strong  meats,  and  plumes  herself  upon  the  reputation  of  being 
sarcastic.  Any  one  whose  social  backers — family  and  wealth 
— are  strong  enough,  and  who  has  impudence  and  petty  cru 
elty  enough,  can  make  a  reputation  with  the  mob  of  society 
for  sarcasm.  It  is  only  necessary  to  say  mean  and  malicious 
things,  and  sneer  at  all  that  is  exquisite  and  sacred,  to  have 
a  herd  of  tinselled  small  fry — c  cap-and-knee  slaves' — haw ! 
haw !  to  any  degree.  When  a  really  silly  woman  does  this, 
it  is  all  well  enough  j  she  is  living  out  the  purpose  of  her 
being,  and  there  is  no  harm  done :  but  when  a  woman  like 
Myra  Haynes,  who  has  naturally  a  good  heart  and  a  fine, 
nay,  even  brilliant  intellect,  has  so  far  fallen  from  the  high 


364          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

estate  of  womanly  delicacy  as  to  permit,  much  less  glory  in, 
a  reputation  of  this  kind,  I  set  it  down  that  there  is  a 
strong  constitutional  obesity  at  the  bottom  of  it — that  her 
nervous  susceptibility — that  gossamer  network  vibrating  to 
the  faintest  airs  from  dream-land,  which  should  guard  about 
the  heart  of  a  pure  woman — has  been  actually  drowned, 
smothered  in  animal  oils.  "Willie  Shakspeare  says,  'When 
the  mind  is  free  the  body's  delicate,'  and  I  believe  him,  too. 
It  is  as  much  impossible  that  a  woman — the  ducts  and  con 
duits  of  whose  body  are  turgid  with  unctuous  humours — 
can  buoy  herself  steadily  in  the  rare  empyrean  of  the 
beautiful  and  true,  as  that  a  goose  fatted  for  the  spit  can 
play  the  humming-bird,  and  suck  nectar  from  the  woodbine's 
coral  trumpet  on  the  wing.  She  may  flutter  along  the  earth, 
pounding  up  the  dust  with  sufficient  strength  of  pinion  to 
show  that  she  might  make  a  glorious  air-voyage  but  for  the 
too  great  ballast  of  essential  oils  on  hand — that  is  all.  There 
is  nothing  like  the  pungent  subtlety  of  the  Attic,  smarting 
while  it  cures,  in  her  wit;  this  could  not  live  upon  "breath 
rank  with  gross  diet."1 

"  Carter,  such  thoughts  are  rank  of  grossness,  connected 
with  the  name  of  Myra  Haynes.  Pray,  my  transcendental 
coxcomb,  would  you  have  her  sip  dew  from  cups  of  violets 
for  breakfast ;  dine  on  fricasseed  larkspurs  and  butterflies, 
and  take  moon-sop  for  supper?  Such  whimsicalities  are 
undignified  and  unmanly,  when  they  lead  to  serious  results. 
Why,  a  pale  dyspeptic  miss  of  fifteen,  sighing  at  the  stars 
from  the  garret  attic  of  a  convent,  would  blush  to  disclose 
them  to  her  "soul's  sister"  in  earnest;  and  yet  for  such 
splenetic  fantasies  of  a  cloyed  taste,  you  talk  of  sacrificing 
the  just  expectations  of  your  father,  friends,  and  the  lady 
herself.  It  is  only  people  who  have  gormandized  themselves 
into  an  indigestion  whose  brains  generate  such  weak  vapours. 
Your  favourite  Willie  says — 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          365 

1  Who  can  speak  broader  than  he  that  has  no  house 
To  put  his  head  in — such  may  rail  against  great  buildings.' 

So  with  those  who  have  no  stomach — they  fret  their  irritable 
souls  into  winnings,  and  speaking  broad  against  those  who 
have.  Such  may  rail  against  the  pleasures  of  the  table, 
talk  of  coarseness,  stupidity — want  of  just  sentiment  being 
the  necessary  concomitants  of  an  indulgence  in  them,  but 
who  will  give  them  credit  for  either  discrimination  or  sin 
cerity  ?  Besides,  your  own  authority  is  expressly  against 
you.  Recollect — 

'  The  veins  unfill'd,  our  blood  is  cold,  and  then 

We  pout  upon  the  morning 

But  when  we've  stufFd 

These  pipes,  and  these  conveyances  of  our  blood, 
With  wine  and  feeding,  we  have  suppler  souls.' 

And  Caesar  says,  '  Let  me  have  men  about  me  who  are  fat.' 
And  furthermore,  Mr.  Frank,  I  am  astonished  that  you 
haven't  the  good  taste  to  admire  her  independence.  She 
scorns  the  finicking,  contemptible  affectation  of  those  would- 
be  zephyr  misses,  who  are  horrified  at  the  idea  of  eating 
honest,  substantial  food  'before  folk,'  but  nibble  puffs  and 
sip  flummery  at  balls  most  daintily,  with  the  determination 
to  make  up  for  it  on  'hog's  foot  and  horniny,'  or  some  other 
such  delicacy,  when  they  get  home.  I  am  afraid  you  are 
losing  your  balance  and  becoming  a  regular  new-light 
Grahamite,  or  some  other  sort  of  fanatic.'' 

"No,  sir  !  I  am  neither  a  dyspeptic,  a  Grahamite,  or  any 
tie  else.  But  I  know  enough  of  the  moral  and  physical 
anatomy  of  our  being  to  be  convinced  that  the  law  of  self- 
control  is  the  stern  law  of  the  higher  life,  and  that  the  un 
constrained  indulgence  of  appetite  in  man  or  woman,  whether 
strong  or  weak,  is  inaccordant  with  the  spiritual  harmonies, 
unfriendly  to  physical  as  well  as  moral  and  intellectual 

symmetry — to  that  consistent  repose  and   balance   of  at- 
2F2 


866          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

tributes  which  makes  the  powerful  unity.  For  my  part,  I'd 
rather  die  as  Icarus,  suddenly,  of  a  fall  from  the  clouds, 
than  sink,  as  the  gourmand  does,  inch  by  inch,  into  the 
greasy  slough  of  sensuality.  The  diseases,  the  intellectual 
and  physical  monstrosities,  the  low-browed  ferocious  super 
stitions,  the  hopeless,  rayless,  animal-eyed  ignorance,  as  well 
as  the  small  swarm  of  captious  jealousies,  feverish  malignities, 
hatreds  and  fears — with  all  uncleanly  lusts — which  make 
hideous,  poison  and  convulse  the  social  organism,  are  one 
and  all  the  venomous  spawn  of  this  monster  vice.  Science 
has  demonstrated  it — common  sense  tells  us  it  is  so,  yet  it  is 
fanatical  to  denounce  it,  indelicate  to  speak  of  it,  even  when 
you  mark  its  ravages  in  the  wilted  skin,  the  suffused  cheek, 
the  hollow  eyes,  with  their  unnatural  flashes  of  fantastic  and 
capricious  humours,  on  the  person  of  the  woman  you  arc  ex 
pected  to  love.  By  all  that  is  blissful !  I  have  no  fanc}?  for 
the  ingenious  purgatory,  the  cross-grained  and  perverted 
energies  of  such  a  woman  would  be  expended  in  inventing 
for  my  benefit !" 

"  Hold  up,  Frank,  for  Heaven'  ssake  !  Are  you  going  to 
elocutionize  even  on  till  daybreak  ?  Give  me  another  segar  ! 
I  see  you  have  been  taking  a  sagacious  peep  into  the  mill 
stone  as  well  as  the  transcendentalists,  and  are  grown  quite 
Orphic.  I  suppose  this  misty  revelation  of  yours,  '  being 
interpreted,'  means  that  you  intend  to  measure  female  at 
tractions  by  a  scale  of  dietetics,  and  that  the  nearer  they 
come  to  starving  themselves  into  the  '  second  sight' — seeing 
visions,  dreaming  dreams,  and  hearing  ;  airy  tongues  that 
syllable  men's  names,'  and  such  like  ghostly  accomplish 
ments — the  nearer  will  they  approach  to  victimizing  you. 
Shade  of  Cupid!  but  you  have  found  a  new  road  to  the 
heart,  through  the  stomach.  You  are  clearly  a  'New- 
Light,'  Frank!" 

"It  is  a  light  as  old  as  time,  that  the  stomach  has  a  great 
deal  to  do  with  the  sentiments.  I  won't  quote  Records  upon 


BACK   FROM    THE   WILDER.NJ^s.  367 

you,  to  show  that  it  was  once  considered  the  seat  of  them ; 
but  jour  own  experience,  if  you  will  be  candid,  will  suffice 
to  convince  you  that  there  can  be  no  delicate  truthfulness 
of  sentiment — no  clear,  concise  thinking,  where  the  laws  of 
life  have  been  outraged  systematically — as  is  the  case  three 
times  a  day  with  those  given  to  table  excess.  I  tell  you, 
sir,  I  had  rather  be  assured  of  the  habitual  self-command 
of  a  woman  in  this  particular,  which  is  founded  either  on  an 
unviolated  instinct,  which  we  all  have,  and  which  a  proper 
education  might  keep  intact,  or  a  sense  of  duty,  than  to  be 
familiar  with  any  or  every  other  of  her  habitudes.  I  mean 
the  woman  I  should  think  of  as  my  wife ;  for  were  I  satisfied 
on  this  point,  I  should  feel  there  was  every  thing  to  hope, 
since  what  she  lacked  in  elevation  and  refinement,  she  would 
acquire  naturally,  as  the  flower  drinks  splendour  in  the 
beam-lit  dew;  but,  in  the  other  case,  however  much  of  fitful 
brilliancy  she  might  display,  I  should  only  look  forward 
through  a  painful  perspective  of  ' fading  still  fading!' ' 

"But  what  does  all  this  monody  amount  to,  more  than 
that  you  saw  your  lady-love  honestly  eat  a  beefsteak  for 
breakfast  in  your  presence,  and  thereat  you  are  hugely  in 
dignant,  seeing  that  from  what  you  know  of  spirit-land  the 
young  ladies  there  who  wear  wings  never  carry  such  heavy 
ballast !  I  warrant  you,  if  these  shadowy  damsels  took  a 
long  gallop  on  horseback  every  day,  or  danced  three  or  four 
hours  every  night,  as  Myra  Haynes  does,  they  would  find 
something  more  substantial  quite  comfortable." 

"Beefsteak  is  strong  food  for  a  labouring  man — not 
stopping  to  discuss  whether  it  isn't  grosser  than  is  needful 
for  him — but  for  the  delicate  organization  of  such  a  woman, 
it  is  rank  poison.  During  the  riding  party  this  morning,  I 
could  see  its  effects  in  the  rather  boisterous  gayety,  which 
would  have  been  charming  in  you ;  in  the  spiteful,  malignant 
abuse  heaped  upon  every  thing  and  every  body,  except  your 
humble  servant,  remember !  and  which  you  call  wit  and  sar- 


368  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

casm — in  her  love  of  headlong,  rapid  motion.  It  had  pre 
cisely  the  effect  upon  her  a  stiff  glass  of  brandy  would  have 
had  upon  me.  Her  blood  was  evidently  burning  in  her 
veins;  there  was  no  repose,  no  natural  dignity  of  sentiment 
drawn  from  her  own  healthful  and  happy  emotions ;  no  calm 
appreciation,  and  clear-souled  mirroring  the  charmed  quiet 
and  wonders  of  apparelled  Earth.  She  seemed  restless  as 
one  fever-stricken;  her  eye  rested  nowhere;  she  talked  high- 
flown  sentiment,  but  it  was  by  rote;  she  borrowed  it  from 
Bulwer,  who  borrowed  it  from  Byron,  so  that  it  was  but  the 
ghost  of  an  echo  indeed!  and  yet  the  Thing-a-mys  who 
made  up  the  party  sighed  and  rolled  up  their  eyes,  or  haw- 
haw'd  like  mad,  as  they  took  their  cue  from  her  expression 
— and  she  looked  triumphant — and  such  triumphs !  She  may 
have  them  all  to  herself  hereafter  for  me;  and  yet  the  wo 
man  is  capable  of  higher  things !  It  is  fortunate  that  the 
effect  of  such  indulgences  and  excesses  is  as  legible  as  the 
blossoms  on  a  toper's  nose ;  so  that  the  honesty  you  boast 
of  her  displaying  amounts  to  nothing.  The  man  who  goes 
with  his  eyes  open  can  detect  these  things  just  as  readily  as 
you  can  detect  the  '  three  sheets  in  the  wind'  of  your  boon 
companion." 

"Frank,  all  this  hyperbole  of  criticism  sounds  superbly 
ridiculous,  when  you  remember  that  it  is  applied  to  a  peer 
less  beauty,  universally  toasted  as  the  most  fascinating  wo 
man  of  the  South !" 

"  That  very  fact  of  her  being  a  universal  toast  is  another 
link  in  the  chain  of  effects  I  have  been  tracing.  That  any 
whipster  who  can  sport  '  rooms'  and  a  cab,  does  not  feel  it 
is  presumption  to  take  her  name  in  vain  on  his  unhallowed 
lips,  but  swaggers  over  wine  to  his  brother  ape  of  his  last 
real  or  imaginary  passage  at  wits  with  the  famous  Belle, 
Myra  Haynes,  and  swears  she  is  '  a  dem  foin  girl !'  is  proof 
conclusive  enough  that  she  herself  has  authorized  this  by 
the  reckless  exhibition  of  an  inordinate  passion  for  display — • 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          369 

in  perfect  keeping  with  the  exaggerated,  garish  taste  I  re 
marked  in  the  morning  ride.  It  is  always  a  woman's  own 
fault,  when  such  tailor-advertisements  as  these  dare  to  take 
liberties  with  her  name — she  has  licensed  them,  you  may 
be  sure.  There  is  a  reverence  of  exalted  Womanhood  living 
in  the  minds  of  men,  which  does  not  easily  give  way ;  and 
untrue  to  that  standard  she  must  have  been  whose  name, 
whether  for  praise  or  censure,  is  a  common  topic.  I  tell  you 
there  is  a  fence  of  awful  dignity  about  the  clear  innocent  Na 
ture,  which  pert  vulgarity  would  sooner  attempt  to  scale  the 
blue  walls  of  heaven  than  to  break  through.  Why,  I  have  seen 
a  Whiskerando — in  comparison  of  whom  a  forked  winter-tur 
nip,  with  its  bunch  of  frosted  greens,  was  a  respectable  entity 
— look  about  him  in  consternation,  as  if  he  expected  the  earth 
to  gape,  and  sink  his  voice  to  a  whisper,  when  it  was  neces 
sary  for  his  polluted  lips  to  pronounce  the  powerful  name 
of  a  pure  Woman." 

"All  a  la  transcendentale,  and  very  fine!  But,  Master 
Frank,  I  think  your  prayer  had  better  be,  '  Give  me  an 
ounce  of  civet,  good  apothecary,  to  sweeten  my  imagination,' 
if  you  can't  make  a  better  use  of  it,  in  the  presence  of  a 
beautiful  woman,  than  tracing  the  effects  of  her  digestion 
in  all  sorts  of  incongruities.  It  strikes  me  it  would  be 
more  gallantly  employed,  at  all  events,  in  robing  her  in  azure 
and  evening  beams,  and  sprouting  zephyr  pinions  on  her 
shoulders  !" 

"  Bah  !  If  the  world  choose  to  be  hoodwinked,  well  and 
good.  I  want  the  use  of  my  eyes,  and  I  should  not  stretch 
the  courtesy  of  conventional  blindness  quite  so  far  as  not  to 
see  the  bloat  of  debauchery  on  the  person  of  a  man  ad 
dressing  my  sister ;  or,  if  my  sweetheart  took  opium,  refuse 
to  mark  its  ravages  upon  her  cheek ;  or  if,  as  in  the  instance 
we  discuss,  she  be  guilty  of  other  excesses  which,  equally 
with  these,  unharmonize  the  exquisite  Ideal  I  demand,  be 
mole-eyed  and  dumb,  because  a  flippant  delicacy  bans  the 

24 


#70          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

topic.  I  can  only  afford  to  be  blind  when  I  meet  a  reality 
BO  dazzlingly  like  the  radiant  Seraph  which  is  haunting  me, 
as  to  make  it  a  luxury  to  close  my  eyes  and  take  the  rest 
on  faith  ;  but  I  can  never  be  dumb  or  blind  because  a  selfish 
and  stupid  fashion  requires  it.  These  things,  upon  which  I 
insist  so  much,  no  doubt  appear  to  you  mere  specks  in  the 
sun;  but  to  me,  who  thirst  only  for  the  Pure  and  Perfect, 
they  seem  monstrous  blotches !" 

"  Vastly  complimentary  to  my  taste  !  But  I  can  stand 
the  contrast  with  a  frigid  acumen  which  so  ingeniously  inverts 
the  common  instincts  of  gallantry!" 

"*  Still  harping  on  my  daughter  !'  But  I  insist,  my  dear 
fellow,  it  is  a  woman's  own  fault  when  these  cruelly  unsweet 
ened  imaginings  you  complain  of,  run  riot  in  a  man's  brain. 
Wh^,  sir,  the  clear  eyes  of  a  True  Woman  are  the  win 
dows  of  heaven  to  me — in  their  unfathomable  depths  I  see 
infinite  beauties — the  glancing  of  embodied  Joys  and  Hopes, 
soft-plumed  and  sunny  browed,  beckoning  me  to  bliss.  My 
whole  being  is  transformed  by  the  enchantment — low  gushes 
from  the  rills  and  fountains  of  the  Better  Land — odours,  like 
whispered  symphonies,  of  starry  flowers  and  pleasant  airs — 
they  burden  all  my  sense  with  ecstasy,  until  I  feel  what 
Angels  hymn  about,  and  adoration  goes  exulting  up  in  praise 
to  God — that  he  has  blest  us  so — has  sent  this  Living  Beam 
of  his  own  Love  to  throw  its  shining  track  across  the  deso 
lation  and  the  wastes  of  life,  leading  our  aspirations  right 
to  him.  My  heart  brims  up  with  calmest  happiness — 
flows  out  in  faith  and  charity  through  all  the  world  ;  for  I 
have  seen  the  sure  Promise  in  a  Daughter  of  our  race,  and 
know  the  white  feet  of  Angels  to  be  yet  upon  our  hills." 

"  A  precious  specimen  of  rhapsodizing  that !  But,  my  foam 
ing  Pythian,  I  fear  our  poor  belles  would  be  sadly  taken 
aback  should  they  be  required  by  the  fiat  of  etiquette 
to  make  every  young  fellow  who  looked  into  their  eyes,  see 
sights  so  wondrous  in  them,  and  smell  and  hear  at  the  same 


BACK   FROM   THE    WILDERNESS.  371 

time  odours  so  ravishing  !  I  should  be  dreadfully  alarmed 
lest,  to  dodge  the  letter  of  the  law,  they  would  hide  all  the 
windows  of  heaven  behind  goggles  !" 

"Newnon,  you  would  strangle  a  Peri  singing  among 
flowers,  if  you  could  get  your  rude  fingers  on  its  throat.  It 
does  not  follow  that  in  such  a  case  the  emotions  of  every 
man  must  be  identical  with  mine ;  but  that  they  must  be  en 
nobling  and  elevating  to  the  height  of  his  susceptibilities 
under  the  influence  of  a  pure  woman's  eye,  is  very  certain ; 
and  I  thank  God  that  unless  all  is  right  within,  this  power 
over  our  holiest  impulses  fades  from  out  her  glance.  I  tell 
you,  sir,  Woman  floats  in  a  rarer  atmosphere  above  us,  and 
between  us  and  the  light  of  Heaven — and  all  the  sacred  rays 
from  the  Eternal  throne  which  reach  us,  must  be  first  re 
fracted  through  her  heart ;  if  that  be  dark,  then  is  earth 
dark  to  us ;  if  that  be  clear,  then  do  we  see  Heaven  and 
Earth  are  filled  with  beams.  My  reverence  of  her  in  this 
high  place — the  sense  of  my  dependence  on  her  as,  under 
God,  the  medium  of  all  Good,  is  too  profound  to  permit  me, 
as  a  patient  witness,  to  look  on  while  she  of  her  own  accord 
deliberately  will,  for  '  the  mess  of  pottage,'  to  cast  her  wings 
and  sink  unutterably  !  I  glory  in  this  dependence  though, 
and  however  often  I  may  be  disappointed,  yet  will  I  be 
strong  in  faith.  One  fleeting  glimpse  through  the  crystal 
bars  of  Paradise,  half  lifted,  is  sufficient  to  last  a  mortal  life, 
and  that  I  have  had !  and  cheerily  I'll  plod  onward  in  the 
pilgrimage  before  me.  When  heart-sick,  as  now,  I'll  go 
aside  to  open  the  gern-lettered  scroll  of  memory,  and  feed 
my  spirit  with  refreshing  on  its  light — still  elate  in  hope  that 
Earth  has  yet  another  Wanderer  of  the  Skies  hid  somewhere 
in  its  green  nooks,  awaiting  me  !  Woman  can  never  make 
me  worse  than  my  own  passions  have — but  she  can  make  me 
better,  immeasurably  far,  and  happier;  her  power  ceases 
when  our  course  is  prone,  she  lends  strength  only  to  the 
wings !" 


372          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

"  I  think  you  would  immortalize  yourself  as  the  champion 
of  Woman's  Rights,  and  be  feasted  the  round  of  the  cities 
on  sugar-plums!  Hadn't  you  better  try  it,  Frank  ?" 

"  Woman's  rights  !  They  can  be  fanatics  as  well  as  we. 
Her  rights,  are  to  be  true  to  herself,  and  elevate  man,  and 
she  will  have  nothing  to  complain  of.  The  truth  is,  I  am 
sick  of  the  flat,  stale,  common-place,  and  vapid  cant  of  the 
Society-Woman,  and  as  to  Men,  I  care  nothing  for  them. 
I  am  determined  that  I  will  plunge  beneath  the  mighty 
shadows  of  the  great  West — where  the  wild  Daughters  and 
flowers  of  Earth  spring  together — the  nurslings  of  the 
mountain-winds  amid  ocean  plains  and  cloud-aspiring  forests, 
with  torrent  rivers  thundering  past  for  lullabies — they  will, 
at  least,  be  free  and  strong,  and  fresh,  as  prodigal  nature 
made  them ;  and  my  lungs  and  heart  which,  in  this  sickly 
air  of  hot-house  faint  perfumes,  have  almost  wearied  in 
their  vocations,  will  learn  again  to  play  boldly  and  free  as 
theirs!" 

" Yonder 's  the  morning  star!  let  us  at  least  take  a  nap 
before  you  set  out!" 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   CHILD  FRETA. 

AGAIN  we  must  revert  yet  farther  back  than  this  memora 
ble  conversation,  from  which  those  adventurings  of  Frank 
Carter  we  have  previously  traced,  took  origin ;  to  show  how 
fate  had  already  prepared  for  him  those  surprises  and  start 
ling  realizations  which  so  enthralled  his  life  in  the  heart  of 
that  deep  wilderness  toward  which  we  have  seen  his  vague 
yearnings  urging  him. 

Ho !  presto !    The  parlour  of  one  of  the  magnificent  homes 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          37o 

of  the  "  Merchant  Princes"  of  New  York  in  1836  is  open  to 
our  view. 

This  palace  is  in  Waverly  Place.  It  is  large  and  very 
imposing,  with  its  granite  front — but  the  interior,  which  has 
been  thus  suddenly  revealed,  is  far  more  extraordinary. 
The  subtlest  refinements  of  luxury  seem  to  have  been  lavished 
in  perfecting  its  splendid  comfort.  The  most  learned  and 
exacting  taste  in  upholstery  can  ask  nothing  more  delicate 
in  drapery  or  richly  massive  in  furniture.  The  travelled 
connoisseur  would  be  astounded  to  recognise  upon  its  walls 
pictures  of  such  value  as  he  had  thought  only  the  galleries 
of  foreign  princes  might  aspire  to  contain.  The  gorgeous 
chandelier  throws  down  a  soft  shaded  light  like  moon-rays, 
and  the  white  figures  of  grouped  statuary  start  forth  beneath 
it  from  the  niches  and  corners  of  the  great  room,  seeming  to 
hold  the  silence  pulseless  by  the  awe  of  their  immortal  ges 
tures.  Though  the  silence  is  very  profound,  you  may  detect 
in  the  most  shaded  corner,  the  figure  of  a  man  almost  buried 
between  the  silken  swell  of  purple  cushions,  amid  which  it  is 
listlessly  reclined.  The  shadow  of  a  bust  of  Talleyrand,  by 
David,  falls  across  the  head  of  this  man.  The  broad  white 
calm  of  the  marble  brow,  and  the  chill,  yet  honeyed  sweet 
ness  of  the  subtly  sculptured  mouth  above,  seem  to  smile 
that  shadow  down  in  congenial  coldness  upon  a  brow  as 
slumberously  powerful,  and  mouth  of  much  the  same  danger 
ous  beauty.  But  there  are  yet  differences  not  easily  detected 
between  the  marble  bust  and  that  breathing  bust.  The  calm 
of  the  first  is  unutterably  inscrutable.  The  face  of  Talley 
rand  lives  in  marble  as  it  lived  in  flesh — the  illumination  in 
it  as  cold  and  sweet  as  the  sun-light  falling  through  the 
petals  of  a  frozen  lily.  The  face  of  this  man  upon  which 
that  frore  shadow  falls,  is  stamped  with  much  the  same 
character,  and  is  now  very  still  and  marble-like,  yet  it  be 
trays  something.  There  are  two  slight  lines  between  the 
eyebrows,  and  one  still  fainter  slanting  upward  from  each 


374          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

corner  of  the  ever-smiling  mouth,  which  hint  at  the  "lurking 
devil."  It  seems  as  if  in  striving  to  attain  the  consummate 
art 

"To  speak  and  purpose  not," 

a  passion  had  overflown  its  aim  and  left  the  marks  of  rude 
brushing  wings  behind  upon  that  face.  He  is  not  an  old 
man,  for  though  his  hair  is  white  as  snow,  yet  it  is  as  luxu 
riant  as  ever,  and  falls  back  behind  his  ears  in  massive  flakes. 
He  is  clearly  not  over  fifty,  since  his  eyebrows  are  as  black 
as  a  crow's  wing,  and  the  bronzed  flesh  of  his  lean  face  has 
a  singularly  firm  look.  There  is  "speculation  in  his  eye" 
— those  clear  gray  eyes,  that  look  off  into  the  distance 
steadily  as  if  that  dead  wall  before  them  were  not  seen,  and 
far  beyond  they  traced  some  grave  majestic  dream,  uplifting 
airy  battlements  and  wondrous  shapes  against  the  sky. 

It  almost  oppresses  you  that  this  man  should  be  so  very 
still  that  you  cannot  hear  him  breathing — should  look  as  if 
in  body  and  in  soul  he  had  been  frozen ! 

Suddenly  there  is  a  loud,  harsh  scream,  and  then  a  shout 
of  tiny  laughter,  as  if  a  dozen  little  silver  bells  had  all  gone 
mad  together — a  clumsy  mulatto  servant-girl  bursts  into  the 
parlour,  screaming  yet  louder  with  genuine  fright,  as  the 
golden-haired  little  elf  in  chase  seizes  her  dress.  With  one 
hand  this  little  creature  strives  to  arrest  the  flight  of  her 
frightened  maid — while  at  the  same  time  she  advances  the 
other,  which  is  gloved  to  the  elbow,  closer  and  closer  toward 
the  face  of  the  shrinking  slave.  The  mulatto  tumbles  head 
long  to  the  floor,  shrieking  in  an  agony  of  terror.  "Massa ! 
De  snake!  de  snake!  Miss  Freta  make  he  bite  me!" 

"Freta,  my  child,  what  have  you  there!"  and  the  frozen, 
gray-haired  man  springs  forward  quickly. 

Seizing  the  little  hand,  as  she  was  almost  sinking  to  the 
floor,  beside  her  victim,  in  the  muscular  convulsions  of  her 
laughter,  he  saw  that  she  held  in  it,  firmly  grasped  between 
forefinger  and  thumb,  the  neck  of  a  small  "house-snake," 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          375 

while  the  striped  length  of  the  reptile  was  coiled  about  her 
arm. 

"Freta!  Freta!  what  a  whim  is  this!  Where  did  you 
get  that  loathsome  thing  ?" 

She  sprang  quickly  to  her  feet,  and  stroked  its  shuddering 
back  lightly  with  the  other  hand. 

"  Papa,  it  is  not  a  loathsome  thing ;  it  is  pretty,  very 
pretty !" 

"Where  did  you  find  it,  dear?" 

"  In  the  conservatory !  Oh,  papa !  it  was  under  my 
beautiful  Luxemburg  rose,  and  Sylvy  there  was  frightened  !" 
She  pointed  with  a  scornful  gesture  toward  the  girl,  who 
was  crouched  and  creeping  off  on  her  hands  and  knees  over 
the  carpet. 

"  I  was  not  scared  though,  papa,  for  I  never  was  afraid 
of  any  thing  beautiful.  Its  little  black  diamond  eyes  were 
so  pretty !  and  its  forked  tongue  made  such  a  funny  light — 
flash!  flash!  flash!" 

"But  how  did  you  catch  it,  child?" 

"Oh,  right  easy,  papa!  I  knew  that  some  snakes  were 
poisonous,  but  I  did  not  think  this  little  fellow  was,  he 
looked  so  bright  and  innocent !  I  put  on  my  gloves,  and 
that  not  because  I  was  afraid,  pa,  but  because  I  thought 
that  the  feel  of  creeping  things  is  not  pleasant  to  people; 
then  I  seized  it  by  the  back  of  the  head,  and  chased  Sylvy 
with  it.  But  don't  yo^u  think  it  is  pretty,  papa?" 

"Pretty  for  a  snake,  child;  but  you  know  that  such  crea 
tures  have  a  bad  name  in  the  world." 

"  No,  that  was  a  serpent,  pa !  not  a  snake  that  made  Eve 
do  wrong.  But  I  don't  care !  If  I  had  been  Eve,  I  would 
have  strangled  it  for  saying  naughty  things  to  me — that's 
all!" 

"  Well !  well !  you  little  heretic !  throw  your  snake  out 
into  the  street  now — it  is  not  a  suitable  pet  for  little  girls  to 
have." 


376  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

"But,  papa,  it  has  made  me  happy  ;  and  it  is  cold  out  of 
doors  !  I  do  not  like  to  !  It  was  the  warm  air  in  the  con 
servatory  that  made  it  come  out  to  see  the  roses  and  me, 
and  now  you  want  me  to  pay  it  by  throwing  it  out  to  freeze 
in  the  street!" 

"  But,  Freta,  it  is  a  base  reptile.  What  would  you  do  with 
it?  You  cannot  love  it !" 

"  I  should  not  kill  it  if  I  can't  love  it,  papa ;  for  if  our 
conservatory  had  not  been  warm  it  would  not  have  come  out 
from  his  hole  until  summer-time,  and  then  it  could  have 
taken  care  of  itself — now  I  ought  to  take  care  of  it." 

"Well,  well!  you  wilful  imp,  go;  warm  it  anywhere  but 
in  your  heart  or  bed,  and  I  will  be  satisfied,  for  the  creature 
is  entirely  innocuous!"  and  stooping  by  her  side,  this  hard 
and  subtle-seeming  man  smiles  tenderly,  as  with  gentle  touch 
he  parts  those  dishevelled  curls  of  "paly  gold"  from  off  that 
fair  sweet  forehead,  and  presses  a  soft  kiss  upon  it. 

Those  large,  blue,  jutting  eyes  flash  against  his  frigid  face, 
and  warm  it  for  an  instant  with  the  light  of  love,  which 
sparkles  through  a  momentary  suffusion  of  tears.  The  bright 
creature  bounds  away,  followed  shyly  and  at  a  distance  by 
the  still  terror-stricken  Sylvy.  That  strange,  smooth  man 
looks  after  the  bounding  step  of  the  child  for  a  moment,  as 
he  stands  erect  where  she  left  him,  and  then  smiling  proudly 
as  he  turns  toward  the  sofa,  again  mutters — 

"Daring  witch!  she  knows  nothing  of  vulgar  fears — she 
will  be  invaluable  to  me !"  and  he  sinks  down  heavily  amid 
the  silken  pile  of  cushions. 

In  a  little  while  his  face  resumes  the  cold,  placid,  and 
abstracted  expression  we  first  observed :  then  "  silence  comes 
heavily  again"  in  that  great  gorgeous  room.  All  is  still 
once  more,  and  the  statues  become  eloquent  as  his  own 
figure.  Now,  you  cannot  hear  him  breathe ; — but  there  comes 
the  gay  tintinnabula  of  low,  melodious  shouts  and  laugh 
ter  !  Again  the  sprite-like  Freta  bounds  into  the  room ! 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          377 

Her  arms  about  his  neck,  and  she  nestles  gently  in  his 
lap. 

"  Father  !  father  !  I  let  go  the  pretty  snake  beneath  my 
rose,  and  do  you  think  it  would  not  stay !  It  glided  off, 
shining  as  it  went,  and  then  I  did  not  see  it  any  more. 
Wasn't  it  a  naughty  snake  to  run  away  so  ?" 

"  So  you  will  find  many  bright  things  to  glide  from  beneath 
your  grasp,  my  child." 

"But  then  I  will  love  them,  papa,  because  they  were 
bright  and  gave  me  pleasure !  Kiss  me,  won't  you  ?  You  do 
not  look  happy  to-night !" 

She  turned  up  her  delicately  pouting  lips  with  such  a 
bewitching  sweetness,  that  the  hard  man  could  but  melt, 
and  he  bent  over  to  kiss  her,  while  a  tear  fell  upon  her 
cheek.  The  beautiful  child  laid  her  face  in  his  bosom  for  a 
moment,  and  then  looked  up  through  her  brimming  eyes, 
and  said  tremulously,  "Papa  is  not  happy  to-night?" 

At  once  she  dashes  the  moisture  from  her  eyes,  and  spring 
ing  away  from  his  arms,  says  gayly,  "  0  papa,  I  will  play 
for  you  that  merry  reel  you  love  so  much.  Listen,  listen !" 

She  took  her  place  before  the  open  piano  opposite,  and,  with 
a  skill  most  extraordinary  in  so  young  a  creature,  launched 
into  the  wild  cadences  of  Scottish  music. 

A  furious  ring  at  the  door-bell  interrupts — there  is  a 
pause.  The  tones  of  the  stammering  Sylvy,  commingling 
with  those  of  a  clear,  commanding  voice,  are  heard  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  then  a  young  man  enters  the  parlour,  somewhat 
hastily,  hat  in  hand.  The  gray-haired  man  almost  might 
be  said  to  spring  to  his  feet,  so  quickly  does  he  rise  to  meet 
the  new-comer. 

"  Hah  !  my  venerable  uncle  Cedric  !"  said  the  young  man 
as  he  stepped  rapidly  forward  and  placed  his  hat  on  the  centre- 
table,  "  it  is  all  up  with  us.  But  here  is  little  Freta  !  Kiss 
me,  little  witch  and  cousin  mine." 

He  catches  the  struggling  little  one  in  his  arms,  and  only 
2G2 


378          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

succeeds  in  kissing  her  white  forehead,  when  she  escapes 
from  the  room  with  the  flushed  haste  of  aversion  apparent 
on  her  face. 

"  Now,  Newnon,  what  have  you  to  say — what  news  do 
you  bring  me  ?"  said  the  gray-haired  man,  whose  life  seemed 
thoroughly  startled  out  of  its  deep  stillness  since  the  new 
arrival.  "  I  have  expected  your  coming  this  hour." 

"  Well,  good  uncle,  I  am  too  much  a  pupil  of  your  own 
ever  to  permit  myself  to  be  either  hurried  or  flurried  by 
any  thing.  I  stayed  just  long  enough  down-town  to  hear  all 
that  it  was  necessary  for  you  and  me  to  know." 

"  That  was  right.     Well,  what  is  the  result  ?" 

"  Why,  in  the  first  place,  the  failure  of  your  house  this 
morning  was  the  sole  topic  upon  Wall-street,  and  of  course 
it  made  the  bulls  and  bears  stare  more  wildly  than  they  have 
ever  done  through  all  the  '  lets  down'  and  l  crashes'  that 
have  occurred  during  the  last  disastrous  six  weeks." 

"  That  I  expected,  of  course ;  but  have  they  discovered 
any  thing  with  regard  to  my  operations  ?" 

"  Ah,  my  good  uncle,  that's  the  question — i  To  be  or 
not,'  &c. — you  understand?"  and  the  young  dandy  sinks 
listlessly  upon  the  cushioned  sofa,  and,  stretching  out  his 
legs,  looks  admiringly  at  his  delicate  boots. 

"  Pshaw,  coxcomb  !  what  do  these  antics  mean  ?  They 
have  got  wind  of  it,  have  they  ?" 

The  gray-haired  man  stands  up  before  the  dandy,  smiling 
placidly,  yet  impatience  is  apparent  in  the  slight  twitchings 
of  the  muscles — not  of  his  face — but  of  his  body. 

"  Y-a-w  !" — a  long  gape,  and  the  young  gentleman 
switches  the  point  of  his  exquisite  boot  with  his  frail  cane. 
"  Yes,  my  good  uncle,  as  usual,  you  divine  rightly  !  They 
have  got  wind  of  your  operations — or  our  operations,  if 
you  insist  upon  implicating  me,  an  innocent  victim.  And 
the  plain  English  of  it  is,  that  you  must  make  me  your  exe 
cutor,  and  be  found  minus  to-morrow  morning,  or  else  the 


BACK   FROM    THE   WILDERNESS.  3?<J 

Tombs  will  be  plus  a  distinguished  character,  on  charge  of 
sundry — you  best  know  what — little  peccadilloes  !" 

"  That  white-livered  scoundrel,  Nevers,  has  betrayed  all !" 

"  Yes,  yes  !  we'll  take  care  of  him — so  do  not  fret  your 
self  on  that  score.  I  have  brought  you  all  the  gold  and 
available  notes  I  could  raise." 

He  lazily  drew  from  beneath  his  clothes  several  fat, 
heavy-looking  packages,  which  he  placed  upon  the  table. 

"You  will  probably  not  get  out  of  the  reach  of  the  hue 
and  cry  this  side  of  the  bounds  of  civilization.  The  schooner 
Grattan  sails  to-night  for  New  Orleans;  I  have  secured 
passage  for  yourself,  Freta,  and  Sylvy ;  so  you  see  every 
thing  is  ready  to  your  hand.  For  a  person  of  my  easy 
habits,  you  must  admit  that  I  have  done  well,  since  all  these 
preparations  have  been  made  within  three  hours." 

"You  have  done  well,"  said  the  other  coolly.  "Have 
you  seen  any  of  our  people  in  the  mean  time  ?" 

"Yes,  they  are  all  true  as  steel.  They  are  somewhat 
indignant,  to  be  sure;  and  we  expect  to  feel  prodigiously 
the  absence  of  your  controlling  influence — but  you  will  be 
obeyed  as  implicitly  a  thousand  miles  distant  as  if  you  were 
here." 

"  I  have  rather  anticipated  this  result  for  several  days ; 
but  I  think,  on  the  whole,  that  it  may  not  prove  so  unfortu 
nate  for  us.  I  shall  extend  the  limits  of  our  operations,  as 
I  pass  through  the  South — where  I  shall  take  occasion  to 
see,  personally,  to  this  affair  of  the  Haynes  estate,  which  we 
have  so  much  at  heart.  Perhaps  I  may  find  it  best  to  give 
over  the  entire  management  of  it  into  your  hands.  You 
have  known  one  of  the  parties,  at  least,  since  boyhood;  and 
if  I  find  that  you  retain  the  strong  hold  that  I  suspect  upon 
his  memory,  I  shall  probably  send  for  you  to  take  him  in 
hand.  In  the  mean  time,  try  and  keep  this  nestling-place 
intact  for  me,  for  I  have  spent  too  much  in  adorning  it  to 
my  taste,  to  relish  the  idea  of  having  these  rare  gems  of  art 


380          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

profaned  by  the  vulgar  mob  of  New  York  soap-boilers,  who 
have  come  to  wear  purses!" 

"Set  your  mind  at  ease  upon  that  point  as  well,  my  most 
admirable  and  venerated  uncle ;  for  this  is  a  very  clever 
establishment  which  your  rare  and  restless  genius  has 
elaborated  for  my  peculiar  benefit.  I  can  occupy  it  for 
several  years  quite  pleasantly,  greatly  to  my  own  glorifica 
tion  and  comfort.  If  you  have  got  the  deed  we  spoke  of — 
in  anticipation — made  out  in  due  form,  I  think  I  can  promise 
myself  an  unquestioned  occupancy." 

"All  is  prepared  in  due  form — here  is  the  deed!" 

He  pressed  a  spring  beneath  the  lid  of  the  centre-table,  a 
segment  flew  up,  and  the  papers  were  revealed. 

"You  perceive  I  have  been  as  careful  of  you,  as  you  have 
this  night  proven  yourself  to  have  been  of  me  and  mine. 
Take  that  package!" 

The  young  man  obeyed,  rising  at  the  same  time  and 
grasping  his  hat.  Cedric  shut  down  the  lid  of  the  table, 
and  the  two  stood  face  to  face  in  silence.  He  extended  his 
hand — the  young  man  took  it  without  speaking.  There  was 
no  passion  in  their  clear  and  cool  gray  eyes  that  met  each 
other  steadfastly  for  a  few  moments — not  as  if  in  search  of 
regrets  at  parting — of  memories  of  the  past  or  hopes  of  the 
future — of  any  sympathies  indeed,  or  even  Faith — but  as  if 
two  diamonds  came  quietly  together,  point  with  point,  be 
tween  the  tremendous  pressure  of  great  wills  that  tried  if 
either  could  be  made  to  crumble  one  fine  atom  of  its  spiritual 
edge !  Then  the  young  man  turned,  leaving  the  parlour  with 
a  sauntering,  listless  air.  Cedric,  the  gray-haired  man, 
stands  alone  in  that  magnificent  room;  but  now,  when  he 
relapses  quickly  into  that  old  air  of  frozen  abstraction,  we 
are  not  so  much  surprised,  and  we  can  see  before  the  distant 
gaze  of  those  calm  eyes,  new  schemes  of  grand  and  subtle 
villany,  rising  beyond  the  wreck  amid  which  he  stands  so 
dauntlessly. 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS,          381 


CHAPTER  X. 

REGULUS. 

TEN  years,  which  would  again  bring  us  back  to  about  the 
period  of  the  conversation  at  the  St.  Charles',  have  now 
elapsed  since  the  unceremonious  exodus  of  Cedric  with  Freta 
described  in  our  last  chapter  took  place,  and  yet  we  must 
now  return  again  to  the  mansion  in  Waverley  Place.  Its  ex 
terior  is  not  changed  since  we  saw  it  first,  though  such  a 
period  has  intervened.  Even  less  change  is  apparent  in  the 
interior  of  that  magnificent  parlour.  The  chandelier,  the 
drapery,  the  pictures,  the  statuary,  the  sofas,  all,  indeed, 
look  the  same.  It  seems  as  if  the  presence  of  the  gray- 
haired  Cedric,  though  he  is  far  enough  away,  still  holds  that 
room,  and  all  that  it  contains — even  to  its  very  atmosphere 
— frozen  motionless  as  he  left  it. 

Out  of  doors  the  night  was  very  gloomy,  and  the  neigh 
bourhood  was  badly  lighted.  The  clock  of  St.  John's  gave 
out  that  one  melancholy  stroke,  which  sounds  so  like  a 
wailing  cry  of  the  young  day  breaking  upon  the  dark  silence 
of  its  mournful  birth,  and  then,  one  after  another,  the  diffe 
rent  quarters  of  the  great  city  took  it  up,  until  it  died  away, 
sobbing  in  the  distance. 

You  will  perceive  two  figures  glide  into  that  silent  parlor 
noiselessly.  The  doors  and  windows  are  all  closed,  and  you 
will  observe  that  they  must  have  found  some  other  mode  of 
entrance,  since  they  advance  from  behind  a  group  of  statuary 
in  one  corner.  They  stop  beside  the  centre-table,  and  be 
neath  the  softened  light  of  the  chandelier.  The  man  who 
comes  forward  with  a  light,  quick  step,  as  if  he  trod  upon 


382  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

eggs,  has  a  very  pleasant  face,  for  though  the  cut  of  his 
eyebrows  be  sharp  and  square,  and  that  of  his  eyes  be  sharp 
and  hard,  yet  you  feel  that  the  mellifluous  mouth  "  overcomes" 
the  face  with  sweetness  like  a  summer-cloud.  You  cannot 
well  realize  now  the  comparative  and  superlative  degrees  of 
sharpness  expressed  in  the  nose  and  chin,  which  neighbour 
that  placid  nectary  of  smiles.  The  smooth  forehead  is  so 
disproportionably  expanded  above  the  temples  that  you  can 
not  but  think  the  outline  of  the  face  resembles  that  of  a  fox 
— but  that  it  is  all  so  delicately  blanched,  it  is  impossible  to 
associate  an  image  of  gross  animality  with  it — especially 
since  that  acute  chin  rests  upon  a  snowy  neckcloth,  which  is 
duly  relieved  by  a  full  suit  of  irreproachable  black. 

This  person  might  readily  be  placed  in  the  calendar  of  the 
Saints ;  but  whether  among  those  who  have  been  sanctified 
by  their  devotion  to  the  Christian's  God,  or  to  that  Pagan 
deity  of  Wall  street — the  god  Mammon — might,  perhaps,  be 
cautiously  doubted.  He  has  a  quick,  imperative  manner 
about  him,  as  if  accustomed  to  command.  If  there  are  no 
wrinkles  on  his  brow,  the  spirit  of  them  so  rested  there,  that 
you  thought  in  mathematics — from  magnetic  sympathy — in 
his  presence,  and  were  not  surprised  to  see  the  slave  behind 
him  look,  act,  and  speak  like  a  machine.  This  man  pressed 
the  same  concealed  spring  that  we  have  seen  the  gray-haired 
Cedric  press,  and  up  flew  a  segment  of  the  table.  He  took 
out  sundry  packages  of  sealed  letters,  which,  from  the  di 
versity  of  the  postmarks,  seemed  to  have  come  from  all 
quarters  of  the  Union,  and  even  the  distant  extremes  of  the 
continent.  The  negro  placed  a  chair  behind  him  and  re 
treated  to  a  respectful  distance — standing  as  though  on  drill. 
The  man  sat  down,  and  stooping  low  over  the  table,  as  if 
near-sighted,  broke  seal  after  seal  in  quick  succession,  and 
glancing  rapidly  down  the  sheets,  laid  the  letters  aside.  It 
was  impossible  to  perceive  any  thing  in  his  expression  as  he 
read,  until  at  last  he  came  to  one  which  was  greatly  soiled. 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          383 

and  had  several  post-marks  upon  it.  This  one  he  Dpened 
with  a  nervous  eagerness,  which  was  quite  perceptible,  and 
bent  lower  than  ever  while  he  read. 

He  had  finished  and  rose  quickly.  "  Dick,  it  is  time  they 
were  coming — go  and  unbolt  the  basement  door  into  the  back 
alley?" 

"Yes,  Massa !"  said  the  negro,  and  wheeled  about  me 
chanically  to  execute  his  mission. 

"  Stop  there,  Dick  !  are  you  sure  our  Captain  of  Police  is 
on  duty  to-night?" 

"B'lieve  him  is,  Massa." 

"  There  must  be  no  doubt  about  it.  Run  back  into 
Washington  Place  and  see  if  he  is  on  the  look-out.  Tell 
him  to  count  the  men  who  enter  the  alley,  carefully,  and 
look  sharp  for  lurkers  in  the  neighbourhood." 

"Yes,  Massa." 

"  And  look  you,  Master  Dick  ! — be  very  sure  of  The  Word 
before  you  let  any  irian  in  below !" 

"Yes,  Massa;"  and  the  negro  marched  off  alertly. 

When  he  disappeared  behind  the  group  of  statuary,  you 
might  have  heard  a  slight  sound  as  of  sliding  panels,  and 
then  all  was  still  again.  For  fifteen  minutes  this  man  walked 
back  and  forth  restlessly,  still  holding  that  soiled  letter  in 
his  hand.  Now  and  then  he  would  pause  by  the  heap  of 
opened  letters  on  the  table,  take  one  from  it,  stoop,  glance 
over  it,  and  lay  it  down  to  resume  his  walk.  A  slight  sound 
had  reached  his  acute  ear,  and  he  reseats  himself  quickly, 
and  appears  to  be  absorbed  with  the  letters.  A  tall  man, 
whose  face  and  figure  is  completely  shrouded  in  a  long  black 
cloak,  enters  with  a  noiseless  step  from  behind  the  group  of 
statuary.  When  this  new  comer  had  approached  the  table, 
the  man  seated  at  it  merely  nods  in  recognition,  as  he  looks 
up  from  his  labour  for  a  moment.  The  new  comer  acknow 
ledges  the  recognition  in  the  same  business-like  manner,  and 
proceeds  to  divest  himself  of  his  large  cloak  and  broad 


384          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

brimmed  hat  in  a  very  leisurely  manner.  This  proceeding 
revealed  the  tall  slim  figure  of  a  very  intellectual-seeming 
man,  whose  bright  unsteady  eye  expressed  a  quick  and  vola 
tile  nature  entirely  in  unison  with  that  lithe  and  supple 
frame.  He  was  dressed  in  the  last  degree  of  rich  and  ele 
gant  fashion.  He  said,  as  he  sank  down  listlessly  upon  a 
sofa,  "You  seem  to  have  a  heavy  mail  before  you,  to-night, 
Mr.  Secretary.  I  hope  there  is  something  from  our  nomadic 
President,  for  it  is  full  time  we  heard  from  him!" 

"There  is — and  something  of  importance,  too — as  you 
shall  hear  when  the  rest  arrive!" 

"  Glad  of  it,  we  want  something  to  stir  us  up !  What  is 
it  now — Financial,  Commercial,  Political,  or  what?" 

"Political!" 

"I  thought  so,  for  it  is  high  time — high  time!"  and  he 
gave  a  long  yawn,  and  threw  himself  back  upon  the  sofa. 

At  this  moment  another  person  entered  by  the  same  way, 
and  in  the  same  noiseless  manner  we  have  described.  Before 
he  had  divested  himself  of  his  cloak,  another  followed,  and 
then  soon  another,  until  in  a  short  time  there  were  ten  men 
lounging  or  standing  in  scattered  groups  through  that 
magnificent  parlour.  There  could  be  no  mistake  as  to  the 
social  rank  of  these  men.  It  was  stamped  upon  their  pale, 
intellectual  faces,  expressed  in  their  calm,  possessed  and 
purposeful  bearing,  and  advertised  in  their  faultless  cos 
tume.  It  requires  "no  ghost  come  from  the  grave  to  tell" 
that  they  are  all  men  of  the  world — men  of  position  and 
refined  cultivation,  who  know  perfectly  well  what  they  are 
about,  whether  it  be  for  evil  or  for  good.  There  was  one 
prevailing  trait  which  characterized  the  expression  of  this 
company — not  so  much  individually  as  collectively — and  that 
was  intellectual  daring — a  cutting,  cold,  calculating  audacity 
of  purpose  and  will.  There  was  no  attempt  at  disguise  be 
yond  that  they  had  worn  from  the  street.  They  all  seemed 
to  know  each  other  well,  both  personally  and  socially,  and 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          385 

out-door  titles  and  designations  were  used  with  the  famili 
arity  and  freedom  that  would  have  characterized  a  meeting 
"on  'Change."  The  banker,  merchant,  politician,  lawyer, 
doctor,  gentleman,  poet,  editor,  and  priest,  had  evidently  met 
there  in  that  gorgeous  room  to  hear  something  of  importance 
from  the  mellifluous  lips  of  that  fair,  sharp-faced  gentleman 
in  black,  who  sat  beside  the  centre-table  still  bending  over 
his  letters.  This  person  looked  up  at  last,  and  glancing  his 
eye  quickly  around  the  room,  said  in  a  clear,  formal  tone, 
"I  believe  all  are  here.  Gentlemen,  shall  we  proceed  to 
business?" 

There  was  a  general  rustling  through  the  room  as  those 
who  stood  seated  themselves,  and  those  who  were  seated  at  a 
distance  drew  nearer  the  centre  table. 

"  I  am  prepared,  as  usual,  gentlemen,  with  a  full  synopsis 
of  our  correspondence  since  we  met  last  night.  It  is  more 
than  usually  voluminous,  and  brings  us  many  items  of  inte 
resting  intelligence.  First,  we  have  news  from  our  commer 
cial  agent  at  New  Orleans,  which  has  been  sent  through  at 
an  expense  of  over  a  thousand  dollars,  and  which  is  twenty- 
four  hours  ahead  of  the  mail,  and  twelve  ahead  of  any  other 
express.  He  says,  that  up  to  the  moment  of  despatch,  cot 
ton  had  risen  two  cents,  with  a  steady  upward  determination 
— thinks  it  will  reach  three,  on  account  of  heavy  orders  from 
England." 

While  the  sensation  caused  by  this  intelligence  was  yet 
buzzing  through  the  room  in  a  low-voiced  commentary,  the 
technical  secretary,  in  his  clear,  formal  tones  and  sweetly 
placid  manner,  went  on  with  his  synopsis. 

"Another  from  our  trusty  agent  of  manufactures  in  Mas 
sachusetts,  who  speaks  in  glowing  terms  of  the  spread  of  our 
system  of  industrial  monopoly  in  that  state;  and  says  that 
our  mills  are  becoming  the  sole  and  central  arbiters  of  Labour, 
and  are  rapidly  absorbing  every  form  of  production  on  a  small 

scale,  and  that  even  independent  agriculture  had  begun  to 
2H  25 


BACK    FROM    THE   WILDERNESS. 

acknowledge  the  power  of  our  combinations.  He  mentions 
that  the  wool-growing  districts  are  at  our  feet  already,  and 
thinks  that  our  system  of  espionage  and  individual  denun 
ciation,  if  inexorably  persevered  in,  will  awe  these  small 
farmers  and  the  operatives  of  our  mills  into  subjection,  and 
that  we  shall  soon  control  the  value  of  produce  and  prices  of 
labour  as  we  proposed.  He  mentions  the  name  of  several 
of  our  agents  whose  conduct  should  be  inquired  into,  as  they 
exhibit  a  faint-hearted  disinclination  to  push  our  great  idea, 
and  are  beginning  to  cant  about  the  cruelty  of  crushing  the 
poor  operatives.  You  perceive  that  it  is  necessary  they 
should  be  attended  to  promptly,  since  the  third  section  of 
our  constitution  expressly  provides  that  all  disaffected,  opin- 
ionative  and  fanatical  persons,  who  maybe  discovered  among 
our  employees  in,  this  as  well  as  some  other  departments  of 
our  operations,  must  be  dismissed  and  provided  for." 

"Yes!  Yes!"  "Down  with  them!"  "They  must  be 
seen  to  at  once  !"  "  We  will  ballot  to-night  for  who  shall  go 
to  see  to  this  matter!"  And  such  like  expressions  ran  around 
the  room,  while  the  pale  secretary  paused. 

"  Here  are  several  other  letters  from  our  New  England 
agents,  with  regard  to  improvements  in  labour-saving  ma 
chinery,  which  require  our  careful  supervision,  for  they  con 
tain  unusually  important  suggestions.  They  develop  several 
important  agents  of  monopoly  in  manufactures,  which  can 
not  be  passed  by  without  our  careful  regard — but  these  must 
lie  over  for  action  till  to-morrow,  as  we  have  more  pressing 
business  on  hand  to-night." 

"  That  will  do.     Put  them  aside." 

"  Here  is  a  letter  with  regard  to  the  Dickson  property, 
in  Apalachicola,  Florida.  Our  agent  writes  that  the  widow 
has  been  frightened  by  the  costs  of  the  suit  with  which  ta 
has  threatened  her,  and  desires  a  compromise.  She  will 
take  ten  thousand  dollars  in  hand,  and  surrender  her  right 
to  us.  Shall  we  make  the  appropriation,  gentlemen  ?" 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.  387 

There  was  a  pause,  then  a  few  hurried  words  of  consulta 
tion.  The  whole  party  rose  to  their  feet.  The  secretary 
glanced  coldly  around  upon  them,  and  muttered  as  he  made 
a  note  upon  the  sheet  before  him, — 

"Unanimous  !     That's  done  with." 

They  sat  down  and  he  resumed. 

"  Here  are  some  thirty  letters  from  various  quarters  of  tho 
Union  and  adjacent  territories,  mostly  of  minor  importance, 
considering  the  business  we  have  yet  before  us  ;  their  con 
tents  are  generally  satisfactory  as  to  the  success  of  our 
operations.  Specially  does  our  old-established  system  of 
transplanting  ruined  adventurers  into  the  new  countries  of 
the  South-West,  at  the  successive  occupation  and  annexation 
of  which  we  aim,  seems  to  be  working  well.  We  hear  of 
new  concessions  obtained  everywhere,  discipline  seems  per 
fect,  and  the  spell  of  our  formidable  signature,  'Regulus,' 
seems  to  be  potent  as  ever.  We  must  continue  to  use  it  with 
the  greatest  discretion.  Any  abuse  of  it  would  be  fearful 
to  us !" 

Putting  this  correspondence  aside,  the  secretary  took  up 
another  paper  from  the  table,  and  shaking  it  slightly  in 
his  hand  toward  them,  he  went  on. 

"Here  we  have  an  interesting  report  from  our  chief  of 
police  in  this  city.  We  have  first,  as  usual,  all  the  crimes 
of  the  month,  with  the  names,  characters,  residences,  and 
haunts  of  the  criminals.  I  observe  that  there  is  quite  a 
number  of  suspected  persons,  who  have  been  ;  spotted'  as 
such  by  the  city  police,  who  are  in  our  employ.  This  only 
calls  for  greater  watchfulness  on  our  part.  There  are  several 
names  presented  which  particularly  demand  our  attention. 
They  are  those  of  persons  most  of  whom  have  been,  or  ought 
to  have  been,  sent  to  the  Tombs  and  to  Sing-Sing,  for  sun 
dry  crimes,  and  are  now  at  large.  They  are  Free-soilers, 
Abolitionists,  and  Professors,  both  male  and  female,  of  new 
sciences  and  isms;  expounders  of  Woman's  rights,  Amalga- 


388  BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

mation,  &c.  But  our  report  represents  them  as  persons  of 
indomitable  energy,  extraordinary  recklessness  and  daring ; 
who  have  a  rude  eloquence,  which  can  impress  the  mob. 
These  people  have  clutched  the  Agrarian  ideas  of  reform, 
and  as  all  their  tendencies  are  disorganizing  and  subversive, 
as  they  are  wielding  an  immense  power  with  the  labouring 
classes,  they  require  encouragement.  They  have  already 
organized  extensively.  They  have  clubs  and  newspapers, 
and  are  prepared  to  exert  a  very  formidable  influence  in  this 
city,  and  through  the  country,  upon  the  coming  Presidential 
election.  We  must  see  to,  and  propitiate  these  persons,  as 
you  will  clearly  perceive.  The  estimated  cost  of  that  sub 
stantial  aid  and  comfort  which  should  be  extended  by  us  at 
the  present  crisis  toward  these  incendiaries,  is  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  Here  are  the  names.  You  will  perceive  that  this 
expenditure  refers  only  to  their  leaders — for  the  people  mus' 
have  a  magical  watchword,  if  we  expect  to  lead  them;  even 
all  our  enormous  capital  will  not  bribe  the  masses,  while  a 
simple  ivord  will  arm  them  to  follow  us  as  trustingly  as  sheep 
to  the  shambles,  at  the  heels  of  their  shepherd.  I  think, 
however,  that  the  vote  with  regard  to  expenditure  had  better 
not  be  taken  until  our  next  meeting,  as  I  have  yet  some  most 
important  matter  in  this  connection  to  submit  in  reference 
to  the  greater  encouragement  to  be  offered  to  a  class  of 
restless,  flippant,  and  fanatical  women,  who  are  rapidly  be 
coming  prominent  at  the  North.  The  sickly  sympathies,  the 
clap-trap  cant,  and  termagant  vituperation  of  this  disaffected 
sisterhood  of  virginity,  promise  a  most  decided  and  practical 
availability  for  our  general  purposes  of  corruption  and  dis 
organization  of  the  Republican  in  favour  of  Oligarchical 
tendencies !  Their  babble  will  do  much  toward  increasing 
the  wordy  dust  of  disaffection  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  under  the  cloud  of  which  we  operate  successfully 
This  is  to  be  looked  to." 

The  report  was  rapidly  glanced  over  by  the  most  curious 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          389 

T)f  these  men ;  and,  as  the  names  were  read,  the  idea  that 
these  persons — whom  they  all  knew — were  to  be  secured, 
seemed  to  be  unanimously  recognised ;  but  it  was  hastily  laid 
by,  for  it  was  now  late,  and  all  knew  that  the  secretary  had 
reserved  the  most  important  communication  for  the  last. 
He  drew  the  soiled  letter  from  his  pocket,  and  with  great 
deliberation  proceeded  to  unfold  it.  "  That  must  be  from 
our  President!" 

"What  has  he  to  say?" 

"Let  us  hear!" 

The  secretary  read  out  in  the  same  tone. 

"He  writes  from  the  remote  home  he  established  as  a 
place  of  refuge  a  number  of  years  since.  He  has  just  re 
turned  from  an  extended  excursion  through  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  including  all  the  principal  States  and  towns 
of  the  great  South- West.  He  has  been  remarkably  success 
ful  generally,  and  sends  a  long  list  of  agents  who  will  co 
operate  with  us,  and  correspond  regularly.  But  what  is  of 
far  more  importance,  he  thinks  that  he  has  at  last  consum 
mated  the  great  purpose  for  which  we  have  so  long  and 
patiently  laboured.  He  pronounces  the  South-West  to  be 
fully  prepared  for  a  war  of  conquest  with  Mexico.  The 
secret  society  organized  by  him  so  many  years  ago,  has 
spread  and  prospered  wonderfully.  This  resurrection  of  the 
grand  scheme  of  his  patron  and  master,  Burr — which  he 
effected  so  long  ago,  and  has  worked  at  with  such  indomitable 
purpose  ever  since — has,  after  including  among  its  sworn 
supporters,  two  Presidents  and  four  great  popular  leaders, 
resulted  in  the  annexation  of  Texas.  Now,  he  says,  the  peo 
ple  have  grappled  in  earnest  the  magnificent  idea,  with  all 
its  vast  sequences,  and  nothing  can  stay  their  resistless  will. 
At  the  coming  Baltimore  Convention  it  has  been  determined 
that  we  shall  throw  aside  the  old  'King  of  Trumps'  on  both 
sides,  and  take  up  that  new  'Ace  of  Spades,'  which  will 

open  our  way  to  the  mines  of  Mexico.     Who  he  ia  to  be, 
2H2 


390          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

depends  upon  his  availability;  but  an  apt  pupil  of  Jackson 
and  the  old  regime  of  Democracy,  is  to  be  preferred.  This 
is  determined  upon,  and  no  power  upon  earth  can  prevent 
its  consummation.  It  is  our  old  purpose,  and  the  whole 
strength  of  our  immense  capital  and  extended  chain  of  influ 
ence  is  to  be  cast  in  its  favour !  Now,  gentlemen,  what  do 
you  think?" 

The  sharp-eyed  secretary  looked  around  with  a  keen,  unim- 
passioned  glance  into  the  faces  of  those  about  him.  The 
proposition  was  tremendously  startling,  and  some  of  the  well- 
schooled  faces  there  betrayed  that  they  felt  it  to  be  so.  The 
smooth-tongued,  placid  secretary  continued  in  the  same  tone, 
as  he  handed  over  the  letter  to  them. 

"You  perceive  that  he  furnishes  a  list  of  names  from  the 
North,  South,  East,  and  West,  who  are  solemnly  sworn  to 
support  this  movement  and  this  nomination.  If  you  look  at 
the  list  carefully  you  will  recognise  them  as  veritable  signa 
tures  ;  and  it  presents  an  array  of  names,  powerful  enough, 
if  united,  to  tear  to  pieces  and  utterly  subvert  the  Federal 
constitution.  The  movement  is  evidently  matured ;  we  have 
but  to  resolve,  and  it  is  consummated !" 

The  paper  was  passed  around,  and  carefully  examined  by 
every  one.  No  one  seemed  to  be  taken  entirely  by  surprise, 
though  all  were  somewhat  astounded  by  the  suddenness  with 
which  the  question,  involving  such  great  consequences,  had 
been  presented  for  their  adjudication.  But  these  were 
prompt  men — prepared,  by  their  previous  training  and 
thought,  to  act  in  any  emergency. 

There  was  a  pause  of  some  fifteen  minutes,  during  which 
the  letter  and  list  were  examined,  and  some  consultation  in 
an  undertone  went  on,  and  then  one  of  them  said  in  a  sharp, 
impatient  voice, — 

"  We  are  ready  for  a  vote,  Mr.  Secretary,  upon  this  letter ; 
go  on!" 

"Gentlemen  approving,  will  rise." 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          391 

They  all  rose  simultaneously,  and  then  there  was  a  general 
movement  toward  cloaks  and  hats,  as  for  a  breaking  up — 
when  the  secretary  said,  in  a  shrill,  loud  voice, — 

"  Gentlemen,  there  is  yet  another  letter  to  which  I  would 
direct  your  attention.  It  is  from  our  Vice  President,  Newnon 
Clenny,  who  dates  from  the  St.  Charles'  Hotel,  New  Orleans." 

"Well,  what  does  he  say — in  short!     Let  us  hear!" 

"  It  is  that  Frank  Carter  proves  to  be  a  dreamy  enthusiast, 
and  he  fears  is  an  incorrigible  fool,  of  whom  we  can  make 
nothing.  For  some  silly  whim  he  has  broken  his  engage 
ment  with  the  daughter  of  old  Haynes,  and  is  about  pushing 
off  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  a  vague  and  boyish  adventure. 
I  fear  that  our  schemes  with  regard  to  those  two  enormous 
estates  are  to  be  greatly  compromised  by  the  eccentricities 
of  this  unripe  whipster.  Clenny  thinks  there  is  something 
available  in  him  yet,  and  proposes  to  keep  by  him  through 
this  new  enterprise." 

"  Clenny  is  in  earnest,  and  the  boy  is  safe  enough  in  his 
hands.  If  I  had  any  designs  upon  the  morals  of  Lucifer 
himself,  I  should  send  Clenny  to  him  with  his  subtle  sneer. 
But  it  is  late — let  us  go." 

This  was  said  by  the  tall,  elegant  man,  as  he  threw  on  his 
cloak,  and  they  all  started  toward  the  group  of  statuary. 

"One  moment  more,  gentlemen,"  said  the  secretary, 
rising.  "What  do  you  say  to  the  appropriation  spoken  of 
in  the  report  of  our  Chief  of  Police?" 

"You  must  have  it!" 

"You  must  have  it,  of  course!"  said  several,  while  all 
nodded  assent. 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  tall  man ;  "  we  have  just  resolved  to 
bait  the  Bear  of  Conservatism,  and  we  must  find  our  bull 
dogs  in  butcher's  meat!" 

With  a  slight  laugh  they  all  disappeared.  In  a  few  mo 
ments  that  large  parlour  was  left  alone  with  the  silence  and 
its  statues. 


392          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   ESCRITOIRE. 

THE  author,  being  a  resident  of  New  York  during  the 
period  of  the  principal  incidents  narrated  as  occurring  in 
that  city,  had  formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  principal  per 
sonages.  Himself  a  Southerner,  he  had,  from  the  natural 
affinities  of  origin,  inevitably  been  attracted  toward  Carter. 
The  intercourse  between  them,  at  first  reserved,  had  imper 
ceptibly  warmed  into  a  degree  of  intimacy,  which,  however, 
had  by  no  means  been  such  as  to  render  him  at  all  cognisant, 
beyond  the  merest  generalities,  of  the  progress  of  his  private 
affairs.  He  was  not  a  little  surprised,  therefore,  at  finding, 
one  day,  an  elegant  escritoire  of  dark,  rich  wood,  heavily 
banded  in  the  old-fashioned  style  with  silver,  which  had 
been  placed,  in  his  absence,  on  the  table  of  his  sanctum.  A 
note,  in  a  sealed  envelope,  lay  upon  it.  He  instantly  re 
cognised  the  hand-writing  of  the  address  as  that  of  Mr.  Car 
ter,  and  broke  the  envelope. 

It  was  evidently  written  in  great  haste,  but  without  any 
sign  of  trepidation.  It  ran  thus : — 

"My  DEAR  FRIEND: 

"  I  have  no  time  for  explanations,  as  I  am  in  the  midst  of 
hurried  preparations  for  an  unexpected  yacht-voyage — upon 
which  I  set  sail  in  a  few  minutes.  I  send  you  the  escritoire, 
which  was  left  in  my  charge  by  a  highly  valued  friend.  He 
was  an  extraordinary  man ;  and  its  contents  are,  I  doubt  not, 
of  great  value  to  the  world. 


BACK  PROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          393 

It  was  given  me,  with  the  injunction  that  it  should  not 
be  opened  until  six  months  after  his  death.  The  six  months 
were  up  some  weeks  since,  but  I  have  lately  been  too  much 
otherwise  absorbed  to  think  of  making  use  of  the  privi 
lege  of  the  key.  I  now  therefore  transfer  to  you  this  bequest 
in  full,  with  the  proviso  that  you  will  not  open  it  for 
six  months.  If  at  the  end  of  that  time  I  have  not  been 
heard  from,  please  open,  and  without  reserve  make  what 
use  of  it  your  excellent  sense  may  justify.  Please  take 
charge  of  whatever  correspondence  may  arrive  to  my  ad 
dress  for  the  same  length  of  time,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  time  you  will  also  please  to  consider  yourself  as  my 
executor — open  my  correspondence  and  proceed  as  you  may 
think  best.  Pardon  this  unceremonious  intrusion  of  re 
sponsibilities  upon  an  intimacy,  the  terms  of  which  I  hardly 
feel  would  strictly  justify  me ;  but  the  plea  that  I  know 
no  one  else  whom  I  can  trust,  and  have  no  time  for  further 
explanations,  will  I  am  sure  justify  me  in  the  eyes  of  a  bro 
ther  Southron. 

"  Yours  truly, 

FRANK  CARTER." 

Six  months  having  elapsed,  and  still  no  news  of  my  singu 
lar  friend  Carter,  the  fulfilment  of  the  important  duties  of 
executor,  thus  unexpectedly  devolved  upon  him,  were  de 
ferred  by  the  narrator  as  long  his  sense  of  duty  would  pos 
sibly  admit.  At  last,  when  longer  delay  would  have  seemed 
to  assume  almost  the  aspect  of  criminality,  the  duty  of 
opening  the  correspondence  was  unwillingly  entered  upon. 
As  little  that  was  there  revealed  was  specially  germain  to 
the  purposes  of  this  book,  the  writer  will  be  excused  for 
using  his  discretion  so  far  as  to  reveal  the  contents  of  but 
a  single  letter.  It  was  from  Freta,  and  was  dated  on  the 
morning  of  the  day  on  which  Carter  sailed  on  his  raysteri 
ous  yacht  voyage. 


394          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

" St.  Johns  Square. 

"  Oh,  my  friend,  do  not  believe,  when  I  wrote  you  yesterday 
eve,  that  I  meant  you  should  never  think  of  me  again  on 
earth :  when  I  said  that  we  must  never  meet  again,  that 
I  was  leaving  the  city  for  ever,  and  that  it  would  be  in  vain 
that  you  attempted  to  trace  me.  I  said  what  was  right — 
for  I  am  betrothed  to  another.  That  promise  was  forced  from 
me  as  the  actual  price  of  my  father's  life,  and  unwearied 
assiduities,  extending  from  my  childhood  up  through  my 
whole  life,  and  sanctioned  by  my  father.  Yet,  though  my 
heart  was  never  given,  my  word  has  been  wrested  from  me, 
and  my  honour  is  pledged.  He  will  never  release  me.  I 
know  his  inexorable  temper  well,  therefore  have  I  resolved 
to  face  this  issue.  I  have  long  known  that  its  consummation 
must  be  instant  death  to  me — and  with  prayers  and  tears 
I  have  won  respite  from  time  to  time,  hoping  always  that  I 
might  see  you  once  again  on  earth.  I  have  been  favoured 
— I  have  watched  over  you  long  through  my  faithful  Indian 
— and  I  was  happy,  though  I  felt  myself  to  be  dying  fast. 
I  beheld  you  at  length  for  the  first  time  since  our  horrid 
separation,  and  my  frame  yet  quivers  with  the  ecstasy.  Oh  ! 
the  joy,  the  joy  I  felt  that  I  had  swooned  into  heaven  on 
your  shoulder.  Again  and  again  the  interminable  thrills  yet 
cleave  through  my  soul.  If  this  be  love,  it  shall  die  free 
with  me,  as  it  came — as  pure  in  its  warm  flood  that  seemeth 
ever  gushing  down  the  boundaries  of  sense,  as  when  in  single 
drops  of  dew,  through  flowers  and  all  the  forms  of  beauty 
in  the  natural  world,  it  freshened  my  still  life  in  that  far 
wilderness.  Aye,  all  thoughts,  all  shapes,  all  aromas  of  the 
beautiful,  gather  like  drops  in  this  wild  glowing  tide  of  love 
on  which  I  am  born  aerially  elate,  where  wings  could  never 
bear  me.  I'll  know  no  other  existence  !  Life,  that  has  given 
me  this,  lifted  me  to  the  fair  beatification  of  Death  through 
which  Nature  exalts  her  soul  to  transcendent  realities.  I 


t 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          395 

would  not  say  to  you — do  not  die  !  but  strive  to  be  ever 
near  me  in  soul.  Do  not  come  near  me  on  earth,  but  be 
with  me  always ! 

"  FRETA." 

This  letter  had  missed  Frank,  and  who  can  say  what 
effect  upon  his  destiny  its  reaching  him  would  have  had. 
Our  paths  here  are  sometimes  inscrutably  darkened. 

Nearly  two  years  had  now  passed,  and  still  not  a  syllable 
of  news  from  the  yatch  voyage.  The  escritoire  had  been 
opened,  and  found  to  contain  many  valuable  and  strangely 
interesting  papers,  the  startling  character  of  which  (the 
writer  would  mention  incidentally)  would  justify  him  in  giv 
ing  them  hereafter  in  form  of  a  sequel  to  the  present.  The 
escritoire  will,  of  course,  be  recognised  as  that  left  in  the 
hands  of  Frank  by  the  murdered  Yerga,  who  fell  in  the  trea 
cherous  duel  to  which  Clenny  was  a  party,  and  which  has 
been  previously  described. 

Accident  at  last  threw  in  our  way  one  of  those  methodical, 
matter-of-fact,  quiet  sort  of  personages,  who  seem  to  have 
been  born  nowhere — to  have  never  had  a  home ;  who  are 
always  penniless,  but  whose  lives  appear  to  have  been  as 
constantly  spent  in  adventuring  as  they  most  probably 
originated  in  an  adventure.  One  of  those  warps  and  estrays 
of  love  which  seem  to  have  taken 

"More  composition  and  fierce  equality," 

in  "the  lusty  stealth  of  nature,"  than  enters  into  the  organi 
zation  of  a  dozen  common  citizens. 

This  man  gave  me  an  account  of  an  extraordinary  scene, 
to  which  he  was  accidentally  an  eye-witness,  which  may 
throw  some  light  upon  the  fate  of  the  persons  in  whom  we 
are  interested. 


396          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   DUEL  BY  MOONLIGHT. 

HE  relates  that  on  one  occasion  he  had  crossed  over  from 
the  mainland  of  Texas — some  distance  south  of  the  entrance 
to  Matagorda  Bay,  to  a  curiously  insulated  beach,  which 
stretches  for  many  miles  parallel  with  the  coast.  There  is 
a  wide  channel  of  deep  water  between  the  coast  and  this 
narrow  beach,  or  breakwater,  as  it  might  most  properly  be 
called.  Here  the  turtles  resort  in  incredible  numbers  to  de 
posit  their  eggs  in  the  sand ;  and,  as  he  had  been  in  from 
the  Frontier  idling  about  Matagorda  for  some  time,  he  be 
thought  him  of  turtle-egging  by  the  way  of  a  small  adven 
ture  and  by  way  of  passing  the  time.  He  had  gone  over  alone, 
with  the  purpose  of  spending  the  night,  which  was  very 
pleasant,  and  watching  the  turtles  deposit  their  eggs,  pre 
paratory  to  the  morning  operations.  The  moon  did  not  rise 
until  late,  so  he  threw  himself  down  upon  the  sand  for  an 
early  nap — intending  to  rise  with  the  moon.  He  waked  as 
he  thought,  about  eleven  o'clock;  the  red  disk  of  the  moon 
was  just  then  showing  itself  above  the  waters.  When  he  had 
raised  himself  upon  his  elbow,  he  was  not  a  little  startled  at 
perceiving  the  broad,  white  sails,  and  slender  spars  of  a  small 
schooner-rigged  vessel  lying  between  him  and  the  mainland. 
In  a  moment  his  ear  caught  the  creaking  of  pulleys,  as  the 
sail  went  down,  and  she  swung  round  as  if  she  had  just 
reached  her  mooring.  He  was  startled  at  this  unexpected 
appearance,  and  with  excellent  reason.  He  knew  that  this 
beach  had  long  been  famous  as  the  resort  of  smugglers,  who 
were  in  the  lubit  of  gliding  into  the  channel  during  the 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          397 

night,  to  land  their  goods  here,  when  they  buried  them  in 
the  loose  sand,  and  then  stole  out  again  before  daybreak — 
leaving  them  to  be  carried  across  to  the  mainland,  in  small 
boats,  by  accomplices,  at  their  leisure. 

He  knew  well  that  if  this  were  a  smuggling  vessel  with 
such  an  object  in  view,  his  presence  there  would  be  very 
dangerous  to  him.  He,  therefore,  in  no  inconsiderable  tre 
pidation,  crouched  close  upon  the  sand,  and  began  to  look 
about  him  to  discover  whether  the  inequalities  of  the  ground 
were  such  as  to  enable  him,  by  crawling,  to  place  a  greater 
distance  between  him  and  such  unwelcome  neighbours. 
There  was  clearly  no  hope  for  him ;  the  surface  of  the  beach 
presented  few  undulations,  and  the  only  chance  for  a  hiding 
place  seemed  to  be  an  old  drift  log,  that  lay  in  rather  un 
comfortable  proximity  to  low-water  mark.  He  crawled  to 
this  with  all  possible  speed,  and  having  ensconced  himself 
behind,  felt  considerably  more  comfortable,  although  every 
dash  of  the  waves  drenched  half  his  body.  The  fact  that 
the  little  vessel  bore  no  light  at  her  bows,  had  increased  hid 
suspicions  of  her  character  from  the  first.  But  now  little 
time  was  left  him  for  further  speculation,  for  a  splash  at  her 
side  announced  the  launching  of  a  small  boat,  and  in  another 
moment  a  small  lantern  appeared  over  the  side,  and  he  could 
distinguish  the  sound  of  adjusting  oars,  and  men  taking  their 
places  in  the  boat.  In  a  moment  afterward  it  shot  from 
under  the  shadow  of  the  vessel,  and  he  could  distinguish, 
though  faintly,  for  the  moon  was  behind  him  then,  there 
were  four  persons  in  the  boat.  The  oarsmen,  whose  general 
appearance  was  that — so  far  as  he  could  distinguish  it — of 
man-of-war's  men,  and  two  passengers,  who  wore  glazed 
caps,  and  what  appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  undress  Navy  uni 
form.  He  had  thought,  as  they  entered  the  boat,  that  he 
could  distinguish  the  flash  and  clatter  of  weapons  being  de 
posited  in  the  bottom.  He  heard  no  sound  of  voices,  while 

the  boat  was  pulled  rapidly  to  the  beach.     The  two  passen- 
21 


398          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

gers  were  landed  within  two  hundred  paces  of  his  hiding 
place.  There  was  only  a  moment's  delay,  when  the  boat 
returned  in  profound  silence  to  the  vessel,  which  received  it 
— and  then  in  an  instant  every  thing  was  dumb  and  dark  as 
death  on  board. 

The  two  men  who  had  landed,  stood  watching  the  boat, 
and  then  turning,  they  walked  a  little  higher  up  on  the 
beach.  There  were  but  few  words  spoken,  the  sound  of 
which  faintly  reached  the  watcher's  ear,  when  they  sud 
denly  stopped,  and  stood  facing  each  other.  Directly,  he 
saw  a  quick  flash — a  sudden  movement  of  both  men,  and 
the  steely  clank  of  meeting  blades  shocked  upon  his  shud 
dering  ear. 

So  great  was  his  horror  and  astonishment  that  he  had 
almost  sprung  erect.  But  with  a  returning  sense  of  caution 
he  again  crouched,  though  not  so  low  as  to  deprive  him  of  a 
full  clear  view  of  this  singular  combat — for  combat  it  now 
surely  was — as  the  swift  blades  flashed  and  gleamed  with 
fearful  rapidity ;  while  the  forms  of  the  two  men,  beneath 
the  now  full  splendour  of  the  moon,  seemed  endowed  with  a 
supernatural  activity  as  they  flitted  to  and  fro,  shifting  po 
sition  with  the  various  changes  of  the  fight.  The  men  had 
thrown  off  their  caps.  The  taller  of  the  two,  who  wore  his 
hair  in  lovely  curls,  seemed  the  most  impetuous — while  the 
other,  with  close  locks,  stood  most  on  the  defensive,  and 
seemed  wary  and  cold,  but  active  as  a  panther. 

The  combatants  were  singularly  well  matched,  and  for 
several  moments  the  sparks  fell  in  heavy  showers  from  the 
rapid  collision  of  their  short  Roman  blades.  Suddenly 
the  taller  and  more  impetuous  staggered  and  seemed  struck. 
His  opponent  bounded  quickly  in  upon  him,  and  for  a 
moment  they  writhed  as  in  one  embrace — wben  at  once  the 
taller  man,  shaking  himself  as  if  to  get  free,  sprang  back 
ward,  when  the  other  fell  forward  upon  his  face  and  was  still. 
There  was  now  no  weapon  in  the  tall  man's  hand,  and  he 


BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS.          399 

folded  his  arms  and  stood  still,  looking  down  upon  the  body 
of  his  foe  as  he  lay.  There  was  the  gleam  of  the  sword- 
blade  that  came  up  through  his  back  as  he  lay  upon  his 
face.  The  survivor  did  not  touch  him  again,  but  shak 
ing  his  hair  he  sounded  three  calls  upon  a  whistle,  and  then 
picking  up  his  cap,  walked  with  an  unsteady  step  along  the 
beach  straight  to  the  driftwood,  behind  which  our  trembling 
watcher  lay.  He  did  not  seem  to  observe  him,  however, 
but  sat  down  upon  the  log  with  his  back  toward  him.  He 
groaned  once,  as  if  in  deep  pain,  as  he  pressed  his  hands 
upon  his  side.  The  man  saw  he  was  pale  as  death,  had  a 
very  high  forehead,  and  said  he  thought  he  was  remarkably 
handsome. 

The  boat  had  been  instantly  lowered,  and  when  it  ran 
upon  the  beach,  he  rose  with  difficulty ;  the  men  came  for 
ward  and  helped  him  into  the  boat.  He  simply  ordered 
them  back  to  the  vessel,  and  they  asked  no  explanation,  al 
though  they  could  plainly  see  the  other  man  lying  dead 
upon  the  beach.  After  putting  him  on  board,  two  men 
came  back  with  them,  and  they  now  rowed  directly  toward 
where  the  dead  man  lay.  They  landed,  and  after  digging 
a  hole,  higher  up  on  the  beach,  and  returning  to  the  body,  my 
informer  plainly  saw  them  draw  the  blade  from  the  breast 
of  the  corpse.  They  then  took  it  up  to  the  hole  and  buried 
it,  first  placing  the  cap  upon  its  head. 

As  they  returned  by  the  place  where  the  combat  occurred 
they  picked  up  the, bloody  sword,  which  had  no  doubt  passed 
through  the  heart  of  the  dead  man,  pushed  off  the  boat,  and 
returned  to  their  vessel,  which  immediately  set  sail,  and 
when  day-light  came  was  out  of  sight. 

The  young  man,  when  he  arose  and  shook  his  stiffened 
limbs,  found  it  difficult  to  realize  that  all  had  not  been  a  ter 
rible  and  solemn  drama.  But  there  were  the  unmistakable 
traces  of  the  struggle  in  the  sand ;  there  was  a  black  stain 
where  the  dead  man  had  fallen ;  there  was  the  blood  upon 


400          BACK  FROM  THE  WILDERNESS. 

the  log,  where  the  survivor  had  sat  down  so  close  to  him — 
and  last  of  all,  there  was  the  new-made  grave  !  You  may  be 
sure  our  young  adventurer  did  not  gather  many  turtle  eggs 
that  morning. 

Some  eighteen  months  from  this  time,  while  promenading 
Broadway  one  fine  morning,  the  author's  attention,  in  com 
mon  with  a  thousand  other  pedestrians,  was  attracted  to  a 
stand-still  of  admiration,  at  the  elegant  horsewomanship 
of  what  all  would  judge  to  be  a  Southern  woman,  who, 
mounted  upon  an  airy-limbed  and  magnificently  spirited 
black  horse,  swept  along  the  pave  at  a  bounding  gallop,  ac 
companied  by  a  gentleman,  who  was  also  splendidly  mounted. 

A  strange  thrill  passed  through  me  as  I  recognised  the 
striking  features  of  this  man,  whose  long  dark  hair  fell  about 
his  shoulders.  It  was  undoubtedly  my  old  friend  Frank  Car 
ter  ;  and  if  one  had  risen  from  the  grave,  it  could  not  have 
caused  me  greater  astound.  And  that  superbly  etherial  beauty 
by  his  side,  with  her  translucent  complexion,  and  great  mi 
raculous  eyes,  must  be  Freta  ! 

I  found  Frank  considerably  sobered  and  cured  of  many 
ultraisms  of  opinion  in  regard  to  dietetics,  &c.  But  the  man 
seemed  walking  in  such  a  trance  of  assured  bliss,  that  he 
continually  appeared  as  one  who  knew  not  that  this  was 
the  old  common  Earth  he  yet  tarried  upon,  so  did  his  soul 
overflow  toward  all  things  in  love ! 

Sylva  is  still  the  favourite  waiting-maid  of  Freta ;  who 
tells  me  that  her  faithful  Indian,  after  having  brought 
Frank  and  her  together,  again  disappeared  strangely,  on  the 
morning  of  their  marriage. 

Concerning  the  fate  of  Cedric  I  could  hear  nothing 
Thomson,  the  Englishman,  was  a  mere  minion  of  Clenny's. 
Concerning  the  mysterious  and  omnipresent  "Regulus,"  we 
may  yet  learn  something  more. 

THE   END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


LOAN 


MAR  1Q  1980 


REC.CIR.  FEB2  9 


MAY  2510 


LD  21A-60m-7,'66 
(G4427slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


